


Throw Me Away I

by selverya



Series: Of Frost and Fire [2]
Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Character Development, Disability, Embedded Images, Ghosts, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Necromancy, Occult, Possession, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Self-Doubt, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Symbolism, Torture, invisible disability, mythology lite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 123,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25192051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selverya/pseuds/selverya
Summary: Though the warnings that seemed so urgent thirty years ago have stopped, and the lives of the Ember twins have continued on in relative peace, the threats have not gone anywhere, only lie in wait. When the warnings return, and the twins are once again faced with a threat to magic realm, some things fail to add up and the answers leave more questions than they resolved. Though the Embers fight against a threat that has arisen to take down the All, the source of all magic, it becomes clear over time that what the spellcasters think they know might not be the truth, and the lies that magic realm rests on may be a threat to existence itself.
Relationships: Cassandra Goth/Original Character(s), Morgyn Ember/Caleb Vatore
Series: Of Frost and Fire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824940
Comments: 19
Kudos: 6





	1. The Frost and the Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry.  
> From the Age of Pirates, Adrian Von Ziegler.  
> Very unfortunate name. Tbh. That's why this chapter's not named after it. c:
> 
> THIS IS THE ENDING. THE REST OF THE STORY EXPLAINS HOW WE GOT TO THIS POINT AND WHAT THIS MEANS. IF YOU DON'T WANT THE ENDING SPOILED FOR YOU, SKIP THIS CHAPTER AND COME BACK TO IT LATER.

_36 Years Later_  
_Magic Realm, 2020_

It was close by. Ezio had become accustomed to what the damned thing felt like, by now, and knew what he was sensing for. The problem was that he couldn't easily pinpoint where, exactly, it was. Obviously, it was somewhere over here, but he was having a difficult time figuring out which direction to go in. It felt like it was everywhere and nowhere at once.

A sharp pain tore through his chest. Ezio paused in his stride, one hand raising to press against his sternum. It would go eventually; it always did. It took several seconds, he didn't count them, and then it was gone.

Aine was a little more trouble than he'd been expecting her to be, but not enough. Not enough to stop him from getting _here_ , that was for sure. He glanced around, trying to make things out around the falling snow. It never snowed in magic realm. At least, not until he made it snow in magic realm, and it was almost by chance that he had. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to make it stop once it had begun.

Ezio took a breath in. He didn't have much time and he knew that. He needed to focus. He closed his eyes, his leg shaking with anticipation, but he put that out of his mind. He could hear the snow falling, and hissing onto the stone. He could hear the screeching, and the singing, somewhere out there in magic realm. He wondered if the star creature was nearby, but he didn't have the time to care about that, nor what it would think of what he intended to do.

He sensed something _else_ , too, and grey eyes snapped open just as a blur of strawberry blond crashed into him. Ezio stepped backward, arms raising to keep Morgyn from falling.

"Thank god," Morgyn said. "You're okay! That's good, you're okay, you _are_ okay, right?" The red-head leaned to one side, making sure that Ezio was okay. He _looked_ okay, but looking okay, and being okay, were two very different things with Ezio, and Morgyn knew it, all too well.

"I'm _fine_ ," Ezio said, taking Morgyn's hands. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Morgyn shot back. "Looking for you! Where the hell have you been!"

"Here," Ezio answered. "Dealing with some remnant issues-look, Morgyn you can't _be_ here. You have to go back."

Morgyn's green gaze hardened. "You can't be here _either_ ," the red-head argued.

"Go home," Ezio said, flatly.

"I'm not leaving without you," Morgyn said.

"You stubborn shit," Ezio said, groaning, one hand raising to press against his temple. "We don't have the time to be having this argument, either! _Go home_. It's too dangerous for you."

Morgyn's head shook emphatically. "If it's too dangerous for me, then it's too dangerous for you. I'm not the one that's _dying_!"

Ezio released a great sigh, and winced. Morgyn squeaked, reaching up to rest both hands against Ezio's chest.

"See?" the red-head argued. "This is what I mean, you shouldn't be here. You've _done_ your part, Ezio, this part, this is _my_ part. The Sages' part, not yours."

"I'm not going," Ezio said. "I've come too far to turn around now."

"And what if you can't handle this by yourself?" Morgyn asked, reaching down and taking Ezio's hands. "I'm just supposed to go home so you can never come back? I don't _like_ that idea."

Yes, well. There were plenty of things one wouldn't like in life. Ezio decided to save his breath and not argue that point. He and Morgyn, as always, could go around in circles and never reach a conclusion. Both were too stubborn for anything else, and Ezio knew that.

He really _didn't_ have the time for this. This went beyond the sages, and Ezio knew that too. There were things about this that they didn't know. Mostly, because Ezio had never told them, despite Makana's warnings that he should.

Makana was never wrong, of course. He should've listened to her. But since when did Ezio ever do anything he was _supposed_ to?

"Fine, fine," Ezio said, releasing a breath. He didn't have time for this, none of them did. "Just, stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay," Morgyn answered, nodding once. And as if to make Ezio make good on that unspoken promise, the red-head let go of only one of Ezio's hands. The other gripped Ezio's hand even tighter. "We'll find it together," Morgyn said. "What are you going to do, when you do find it?"

"I don't know," Ezio answered. It was a lie; he knew exactly what he was going to do with it when he'd found it, but there were some things that Ezio didn't tell Morgyn. This was not the first time Ezio had lied to Morgyn to protect the red-head. If things went remotely right, it wouldn't be the last time, either, no doubt.

But that was the price one had to pay, sometimes. The older sibling was born first, to protect the ones that came after. Neither of them remembered, now, which of them was born first. Ezio had decided that he was. Because that meek and shy thing back at France wasn't going to be able to do it, not without a lot of nudging.

The hope was that, once Ezio was gone, Morgyn would be strong enough to not need the protection anymore. Ezio doubted that, but now wasn't the time for second guesses.

"Come on," Morgyn said. "I think we have to follow the light." The red-head pointed at the streaks of light that were pulsating through the stone. Those markings had always been there, but now they were awakened and alighted, pulsating in a certain direction. They all seemed to be leading the same way.

Ezio didn't answer, aloud. Instead, he set his jaw, his eyes hardened, and he glanced at Morgyn one last time, before tugging the red-head along with him, and then he followed the light.

* * *

They'd been following the damned thing's light for a good while now. Ezio was starting to tire out, but he chose not to say anything. Morgyn seemed quite happy about this, most likely merely pleased to be involved in this mess. Ezio stared at the red-head, for a moment, but then returned to watching the flagstone as they passed over it. Ezio didn't know what to make of this situation, but it wasn't how things were _meant_ to go.

Of course, he remembered Makana telling him, once, that how things were _meant_ to go, and how you _wanted_ them to go, were often not the same thing, and it was easy to fail to tell them apart. Ezio didn't think he was doing that, but he wouldn't deny the possibility that he was.

"You know, Drake and Cassandra have not really been the same, since you left," Morgyn said. "We've all heard conflicting stories about what you were doing, too."

"I don't have any intention of explaining that one," Ezio answered, abruptly. "It's better for you not to worry about it."

"Saying that just makes me worry about it, you know that, right?" Morgyn asked. It'd be pretty stupid if Ezio didn't know that already. That seemed like something he should've figured out a good long time ago, but what did Morgyn know of what went on in Ezio's head? Not much, the red-head was starting to learn.

Ezio didn't say anything at first, and then he released a breath. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just had to find something, and I wasn't going to find it out there."

"You found it here?" Morgyn asked.

"Yes," Ezio answered. "And no."

Unconsciously, the red-head rested a hand against the sage's abdomen. The hand dropped back to Morgyn's side.

"You're nervous?" Ezio asked.

"Of course," Morgyn answered. "You know, I don't remember our parents very well."

"Neither do I," Ezio admitted.

Morgyn went quiet, and Ezio did too, the two of them walking along hand in hand towards whatever their destiny was. Ezio didn't _really_ believe in destiny, not anymore. Destiny was, as Makana said, just a pretty word that humans used to absolve themselves of responsibility.

Ezio believed in taking control of one's future. That was why he had to do this.

And he had to break Morgyn's heart.

Unconsciously, Ezio squeezed Morgyn's hand. The red-head glanced at him, and smiled.

"It's just really nice to have you back," Morgyn said.

Ezio smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "It's nice to be back, too."

"What are we looking for?" Morgyn asked. "You're the only one that's seen it, besides Sarnai."

"I'll know it when I feel it," Ezio said. "It is in this dimension, but not. Like it's on the astral plane, I think."

"Could you astral project and find it easier?" Morgyn asked.

"Theoretically," Ezio answered. "But I don't think that's a good idea. It's too straining." He was rather certain, by now, that his heart wouldn't tolerate it, and he had to see the end of this, with as much strength as he could preserve.

Morgyn looked confused, and unsure, but didn't press the issue. As they walked, though, Ezio started feeling cold. What-no, he knew what that was.

Ezio stopped abruptly. "That," he said. "That's what I'm looking for." Ezio let go of Morgyn's hand. The sage looked affronted by that, but didn't argue, as Ezio held a hand out towards the air. A spark of magic later, and Ezio pressed the knife he'd summoned against his palm.

"Wait-" Morgyn squeaked, stepping closer, raising one hand, but it was too late.

Ezio's blood splattered across the flagstone under them. Ezio didn't seem bothered by it whatsoever, and truth be told, he wasn't. Morgyn moved around the blood splatters, taking Ezio's hand with both of the sage's hands and looking at the injury.

"You shouldn't do stuff like that so readily," Morgyn said, tutting under the sage's breath.

"It's certainly not the worst I've ever lived through," Ezio answered. "Hang on," he warned, as the pulsating lights beneath them began to move faster. The lights then turned red.

"What's this?" Morgyn asked.

"I'm bridging the realms," Ezio said. "To bring the All to us."

The lights converged, brightening to the point Ezio had to close his eyes, for just a split second. And when he opened them again, the gigantic crystalline structure he knew as the All towered over them both. The spirits told him that it hadn't always been so large, that it had _grown_ to the size it was at now. Ezio found that somehow upsetting.

"It… feels like it's in _pain_ ," Morgyn said, one hand raising to the red-head's chest. Just so, very softly, Morgyn could hear a chiming song, melancholic in its tune. "Is this the song that you've been hearing?"

"Yes," Ezio answered, nodding. "It comes and goes. Sometimes, it's a screech, and other times, more of a roar."

"How did it get so _massive_ ," Morgyn asked, and then stepped closer.

Ezio reached out and pulled the red-head backwards. "Don't get too close," he said. "There's a barrier around it, remember?"

"Oh," Morgyn said, softly. "Right. You're not breaking the barrier, are you?" He barely survived doing it the _first_ time.

"No," Ezio answered, looking up at it. "I'm going to destroy it."

"What?" Morgyn asked, turning to look at him with wild eyes, as he moved around the All's barrier parameter. "You can't be serious! Why?"

"It's not the source of magic, Morgyn," Ezio said. "It's something else. Something bad. I don't know the details, I just know it needs to be destroyed."

"Did one of those stupid spirits of yours tell you that?" Morgyn asked.

"No," Ezio replied. "The book did."

"Why are you still _listening_ to that thing!" Morgyn asked. " _Can_ you even destroy it anyway?"

Ezio breathed out. This was the other reason he didn't want Morgyn here for this. "Of course I can," he answered. "I'm an Ember."

Morgyn stared at him, like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had. Maybe he hadn't. After a moment, Morgyn released a breath, and then stepped over to Ezio, gently taking his hand. "Fine," the red-head said. "We'll destroy it. We're in this together, and if this is what you want, then I'll help you." Ezio _was_ coming home, this time.

Ezio's grey eyes met Morgyn's green gaze. And then, he smiled. "Yeah," he said. "Together."

He took his hand back, shuffling to one side of the All. Morgyn moved to the other side.

* * *

Morgyn wasn't sure how close to this thing they could get, before they ended up _zapping_ themselves. The red-head peered around the crystals at Ezio on the other side. He raised his hands, and channelled magic into the barrier. They'd _have_ to break the barrier, Morgyn thought, if they were going to destroy it.

The sage still didn't know if destroying it was the right answer. But Ezio was so much smarter than Morgyn was, of course he'd know what to do. He was probably right. Morgyn didn't need to go questioning him. All Morgyn needed to do, was trust him, just like he'd always trusted Morgyn.

The red-head raised both hands, swirls of magic rising and moving around. The barrier shimmered to life in front of the sage's hands, showing Morgyn where its parameter was. Morgyn's magic pooled together, as Ezio's spiked on the other side of it, both pushing against the All. Despite the feeling that this was a very bad idea, Morgyn put everything the red-head had into this, and right now, Morgyn was stronger than Ezio was. He'd tired himself out, over the last few months.

Ezio would never admit to it, but Morgyn could see it, in his grey eyes. Morgyn had never seen him so worn out, but all Morgyn could do was refuse to leave, and try and make sure Ezio came home to them, this time. He hadn't been home in too long, out here chasing the All, or perhaps himself.

The barrier shimmered, and flickered in and out. Suddenly, it unleashed an audible, and _loud_ , groaning sound, and shattered. Ezio loosed a yelp on the other side of the crystals, his magic dimming and flickering.

"Ezio!" Morgyn called. "Ezio are you okay?" The red-head's hands lowered, and Morgyn moved to go around the All to Ezio, but he held his hand up.

"Don't!" Ezio shouted. "Don't stop! I'll be just fine, keep pushing!"

Now, of course, Morgyn had a _second_ question; of whether or not Ezio would survive them destroying this thing. But, that was what he wanted. Morgyn's eyebrows furrowed together, distress clearly visible across the red-head's face, but then, Morgyn returned where the sage had been before, hands raising again, magic pooling back together and resurging. The roaring began, along with a faint buzzing in the back of Morgyn's head. Ezio could hear it clearer, the red-head could tell. Still, Morgyn pushed harder, hoping to make it stop sooner.

Cracks snaked up the crystal pillars. The stone groaned and whined, and then shattered, sending pieces of crystal rocketing in every which direction, the force of it throwing Ezio and Morgyn away from it, and then it unleashed a sudden flood of darkness. Ezio loosed a squawk, as the shadow burst forth from the pieces of crystal like billows of smoke. Morgyn sucked in a breath and stood up, meeting the darkness that enveloped the red-head, and then held both hands out, alighting with _inferniate_. It barely flickered to life, before it disappeared into the darkness, spluttering out like a candle flame that had met a typhoon.

Morgyn cursed softly, the All's roar very loud and grating in the darkness. Morgyn looked around. Every which direction looked the same, but the red-head had to find Ezio, _somehow_ , in this mess. Morgyn's eyes slid closed, the sage focusing on the blip of magic that felt like Ezio.

A vibrant red light distracted Morgyn, appearing right below Morgyn's chin. Green eyes opened, glancing down at the sage's chest. The amulet, that matched Ezio's, was alight with red fire. Another light burst into life, shining through the darkness. It was white, like Ezio's amulet was. With one last glance downward, Morgyn's eyebrows furrowed together, and the sage walked towards the white light.

There were flickers of golden and violet light in the darkness, and curiosity almost got the better of the sage, but Morgyn continued on towards the white. Morgyn drew closer, and then, just when the sage would've kicked him if Morgyn had continued walking, Morgyn could see Ezio, curled into a ball on the stone. Morgyn knelt down beside him.

"Ezio?" Morgyn asked, cautiously reaching for him.

"There are so… many…" Ezio ground out, through clenched teeth.

"So many what?" Morgyn asked.

"Spirits," Ezio said. "There were so many spirits in the All."

What? Why? Morgyn almost asked, but then figured Ezio probably didn't know any better than the red-head did. Morgyn tried to think of a way to help, but, Ezio raised one of his hands, reaching out into the darkness. The swirls of snaking tendrils notably slowed.

"Ezio no," Morgyn said. "You can't control it on your own, not with you like this, please."

"You need to go," Ezio said.

"What?" Go where?

"Go, Morgyn," Ezio replied. "Magic realm is collapsing, I can't control the chaos, not for long, and if you don't leave, you'll be stuck here forever."

"What, and you will?" Morgyn asked. Ezio didn't say anything, but the answer to that was clear in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you! I left you in France, Ezio, I'm not leaving you here, too. I'm not losing you _again_."

They didn't have time to argue, once again. Ezio's teeth grit together harder. "Morgyn, you're not going to like what I have to do."

"There's sentient darkness trying to destroy everything," Morgyn said. "I don't think I'm going to like _anything_ , but at least I'll be able to live with myself if I stay." Morgyn reached up, taking both of Ezio's hands.

"In this together, huh?" Ezio asked.

"Exactly," Morgyn said. "And even if we die, at least we'll be together."

"We're not going to die," Ezio said. "Just change, that's all."

"When did you become an optimist?" Morgyn asked.

Ezio snorted, smirking in mild amusement. "I don't mind anything, as long as you're still here."

"Yeah," Morgyn said. "I don't either. Ezio, I love you."

Ezio's hands sparked with magic. Morgyn wasn't sure what he was doing, but it didn't matter anymore. Instead, Morgyn focused on feeding his magic with the red-head's own. The snaking darkness was pushed back, and then drawn towards them.

In a blinding, sudden flash of light, they both crystallised, taking the chaos with them, and trapping it in the pillar they created together. The magic realm stabilised, bits of the islands that were being pulled into the chaos falling back down.

And then, Ezio's crystal amulet glowed first. Then, Morgyn's glowed in response. Another brilliant flash of light burst out from the crystal tower, and Morgyn hit the flagstone, _hard_.

_I'm so, so sorry…_

Morgyn winced, sitting up on one of the red-head's sides. Oh, ow… for a moment, the sage was confused. What were they doing? No, Morgyn knew what it was, they were creating…

The red-head looked up, catching sight of the crystal, and Ezio encased in it, alone. No. No, this wasn't happening, this wasn't funny. With some work, as Morgyn's hip was sore, the sage stood up, and reached towards the crystal. The barrier shimmered to life beyond Morgyn's hand, warning that it was there, and then disappeared again.

Ezio had become the new All. "No," Morgyn whispered. "Ezio, no, please, please tell me this is a dream, you _can't_ , you can't stand this." Morgyn reached out, the barrier shimmering to life again, just visible through the blurry haze of tears.

"Don't… don't make me lose you, please, not like this," Morgyn begged, one hand resting against the barrier. Despite the warning, the barrier didn't shock the sage. "Ezio… _EZIO_!" Suddenly, Morgyn rammed into the barrier, once, twice, beating against it frantically. "Ezio _COME BACK, PLEASE, I NEED YOU! I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU, PLEASE, EZIO, **PLEASE**!!_"

The barrier refused to give. Morgyn slammed into it, with all of the sage's body weight, one more time, and then slid down the barrier to slam into the stone, crying so hard Morgyn could barely breathe. Then, the sage drew a great breath in, and unleashed a heartbroken, screaming cry.

And somewhere, beyond the new All that contained the chaos, and kept magic realm together, now, the star creature raised its head, up to the sky. It was always like this, wasn't it? An endless cycle, of loss and sorrow, sustaining magic realm, _forever_.


	2. Throw Me Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can start here and not have anything really spoiled for you. Mostly.
> 
> I wasn't really expecting to have this out anytime soon, I *just* got the rough outlines for TMA redone, but the kids have been bouncing around in my head since the end of chapter 22 (WHICH, by the way if you missed it, I adjusted it a little to take out the confirmation of Cagyn because tbh I don't know what they or the game are going to do so I'm not making promises I don't know that I can keep).  
> In any case, um, I had something to say here and I lost it... oh, right, sorry if this is a nonsensical hot mess, the pain started up again and I wrote through it this time. They were giving me a headache, tbfh.  
> I had to ignore all of MMB and CMH to get through this thing's rewrite, you guys have no idea how massive and overwhelming this is, it really is. I'm struggling here. LOL  
> Also the Sims 4 RP that is based on this fic's lore, Simprovise, is running again, feel free to check us out on simprovise.net c:  
> This of course is named after this entire book/section's theme song, and that is Throw Me Away, KoRn.  
> Also I did a little French in this, and I haven't really used French since I was in high school so I may be rusty as fuck. I am so sorry, if I messed it up really bad feel free to correct it. (NICELY! Never figured I'd have to state that one but here we are.)

_I have always been dying, Morgyn. That is one of the only constants we've ever had in our lives, and I could feel it drawing closer. Don't be too angry with me. You'd be mourning either way. I want my death to mean something. Please, help me make sure that it isn't for nothing, either. Find the truth, and set us all free._

_I love you, and I always will._

_6 Months Earlier_  
_San Myshuno, 2019_

Gosh, this cat was loud. Ezio groaned softly, in that stage between waking and sleeping, and then rolled over and smacked the alarm clock. It was set to go off in a few minutes, but Mayor Whiskers had decided he didn't _like_ the alarm clock, and would endeavour to awaken his human before the screaming box began its cycle of screaming. The cat chirruped in what seemed to be joy, and then jumped onto the bed and bonked his head against Ezio's nose.

"Yeah, yeah," Ezio said, sounding amused, reaching up and scratching around Mayor's collar. "I like you, too."

Mayor Whiskers then moved around, jumped off the bed, and padded out of the room, presumably to go climb onto the counters and, if he was feeling adventurous today, perhaps the fridge. Ezio fell back over in bed, his arm falling off the edge of the mattress. The morning rays of sunlight splashed across his skin, warm and bright.

It was a good day to be alive.

The sounds of the city were something Ezio had to get used to. Magic realm wasn't very _loud_ , at least, not in the same way, and the bright lights, slight smog, and the sound of the car traffic had been things Ezio wasn't used to. Of course, he'd been out on the street, for a while, and that was a little rougher than an apartment in the Spice Market. His life was easy now that Drake had moved back in.

The idea was that Ezio wouldn't _need_ Drake or Morgyn to babysit him. Unfortunately, it turned out you couldn't just build a house on a bit of land somewhere without some serious challenges, and Ezio was new to this new way jobs worked. Eventually, Drake had figured out he was sleeping under bridges and cooking on barrels of fire (which, he'd like everyone to know wasn't that bad, it had a unique flavour), and had decided Ezio wasn't allowed to do that. Drake had been publishing books for decades by the time Ezio had come out here, and only a year ago, Drake had used the money he'd been saving up to get an apartment.

Now they were here. And Ezio went and adopted a _cat_. Not just any cat, he was a very loud cat. Ezio thought it was charming. Drake's stronger vampiric senses probably didn't think it was so charming.

Strangely, Lilith and Caleb had moved next door, too. Mrs. Rasoya was going to _love_ that. Vampires!

Ezio would say that at least they were the only ones, but, they weren't. San Myshuno was _crawling_ with vampires. Ezio would know. He'd met a few of them over the years. There was a big coven here or something like that.

For the most part, Ezio was here because it was closer to medical care. He'd since left Dr. Sommer's practise, given Dr. Sommer had developed a case of dementia and retired for the sake of his patients, but his office had given Ezio a few referrals to look into. As it turned out, one of the friends he'd made out on the street had become a doctor, and Ezio was now a patient of hers. Troi was the L to Ezio's Morgyn, some days. She wasn't afraid of telling him the truth, and Ezio knew it was out of respect and care, and took it better from her than he might a stranger. Ezio at least knew himself well enough to know that much.

Finally, he sat up, stretched out, and then got out of bed. He still had bad days, but they were far less frequent than before. There were times when, his heart was so stable that he could almost convince himself that he was normal. And then, he collapsed, like always he did, and the illusion was gone again.

As he stepped out into the kitchen, Drake looked up from the dining room table, and smiled. Ezio smiled back.

His smile still made Ezio's heart do funny things.

"I made tea," Drake said, nodding at the teapot. "If you'd like some."

"Oh, thank you," Ezio answered, shifting around the counter and Mayor Whiskers' food bowl, intending to get himself a cup.

"You're welcome," Drake answered. Things were far from easy, and rent was a little tight sometimes, with Ezio in university, but Drake wouldn't trade it for anything. Ezio may never understand why, but he had every intention of being here, for as long as Ezio still needed him to be. It was strange, though, how little interest in that changing Ezio seemed to have.

"How goes the book?" Ezio asked, somewhere amid getting his tea made.

Drake shrugged. "It could be worse," he said. It could be _better_ , too, but he'd long given up on publishers.

"That's Drake-speak for, Honestly, I'm dying, but don't send help because we can't us both sink," Ezio said, sounding quite amused.

"That is _not_ what it means," Drake insisted.

Ezio snorted. "If you say so." It didn't mean Ezio was going to believe it, though. "Oh, Morgyn's coming by later today." Morgyn had been _meaning_ to come visit for some time now, but hadn't had the free time. Being as Morgyn was sage of untamed magic, and all that, it was hard to _get_ that free time, Ezio understood. University had Ezio so busy, he usually couldn't drop into magic realm, either.

It'd be nice to see Morgyn, finally. This whole living apart thing was beyond weird, and when Morgyn _did_ manage to come by, it was like the blond had never left. How easily they clicked back together, how readily the time apart simply melted away, it made the separation a bit easier to deal with.

"Yeah, speaking of that," Drake started, "is Morgyn taking the couch or staying with you?"

Ezio snorted, stirring his tea. "Morgyn's taking my room, and I'm probably sleeping on the couch," he answered. "Morgyn kicks people when asleep and I'm really not interested in getting too familiar with the floor."

What? He was getting too old for that.

* * *

It was hard to believe they'd only lived here a year now. Ezio still remembered sleeping under bridges, and trying not to get too soaked when it rained and the water flooded the streets. It wasn't like he regretted that time. Many would, he supposed; it was hard, for sure, but nothing worth anything was easy, Ezio always figured that. He saw it was an opportunity to learn, and perhaps life got hard sometimes, but it was a chance to grow. When he asked Morgyn about that, Morgyn thought he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had. Drake thought the same thing, to be fair about it.

Maybe he just wasn't meant to live alone anymore. Truthfully, Ezio had _never_ lived alone, not really. It was Morgyn and their parents at France, then it was Drake and Jean and Jean's dozens of servants, and then they were in magic realm and no one was ever truly alone in magic realm. It was just as well. Even when he was alone, he wasn't very good at it. He wasn't like Morgyn. He didn't need other people the same way, but he did still need them all the same.

Classes were as they always were; it wasn't to say Ezio didn't enjoy them, because he did. His major wasn't his _favourite_ subject, but right now, he wasn't about pursuing his dreams. First of all, Ezio still didn't have dreams. It was hard to have those when it was a well-known reality that he wasn't going to make it very long (on the other hand, he'd made it ten years longer than they'd thought he would). Secondly, he could worry about dreams and personal goals when making the rent wasn't occasionally a painful thing. Drake was helping a good deal, but he shouldn't have to be paying most of Ezio's rent.

Drake didn't see it that way, Ezio knew. Ezio probably shouldn't see it that way, either, but knowing something and managing to do it were often very different things, and Ezio was beyond apologising for who he was.

The snow was falling. Ezio had another term paper to work on, and wasn't looking forward to that, but he'd survived the last one. He supposed surviving this one wouldn't be so difficult as it sounded, either. If nothing else, he was getting better at this language thing. One unfortunate side-effect of taking university classes was, he had to figure out how to write better, and Ezio wasn't very good with words, to say the least on the matter. Ezio was more of an action sort of person rather than a words person.

The only bright side was, Drake didn't seem to mind proofreading his gibberish for him.

Ezio paused outside the apartment building, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sound of the snow falling. Since the leather-bound mystery book had gone silent some thirty years ago, they hadn't had too many problems again. Maybe Morgyn was right, and their problems back then were all the book's doing. Ezio didn't know if he believed that. Ezio didn't know _what_ he believed. Mostly, he didn't have the leisure to think about it too much, and it was for the best that he didn't.

"Hello Mrs. Rasoya," Ezio greeted, as an older woman stepped out of the door and down the stairs.

She turned to look at him, and glared slightly. She and her son Raj were on the same floor as them, and to say the least of it, they didn't get along very well. The Rasoyas were _constantly_ making noise, and Ezio was always flying across the hall in a rage because he had a class at eight in the morning.

Of course, the first time it'd happened, Ezio had threatened them, and quite firmly meant it. That likely didn't help any. Did he care about that? Not too much.

Geeta didn't say anything, just continued on her way with that glare on her face. Ezio eventually released a breath, and it sounded a lot like he was blowing raspberries.

She glanced over her shoulder to glare at him more directly for a moment, before disappearing around a corner. Well, nothing he did managed to make her pleased with him, rather the opposite, so perhaps it would be best for his blood pressure to simply let that one go.

He had a paper to write. Ezio shook his head, more to himself, reached out to let the snow fall onto his gloved hands for a moment, watching the tiny ice crystals melt. Then, Ezio turned and headed up the front steps and into the apartment building. The sudden blast of warm air was almost too much for him to deal with, but, he should be glad for it. He was more glad for the cool air in the blazing summer, because Ezio had no heat tolerance to speak of. Drake didn't seem bothered by _anything_. Apparently, vampires didn't feel temperature changes.

That was _entirely_ unfair, for the record. Ezio wished _he_ just _didn't feel it_.

Ezio took the elevator upstairs, waiting for it to reach the floor he and Drake lived on. It was awfully quiet upstairs with Geeta gone and Raj at work, he thought to himself, snickering slightly. He wondered when Morgyn would get there. Morgyn was still somewhat resistant to modernity, and hadn't ever really mastered finding one's way around San Myshuno. There were maps and signs but, we wouldn't want to use those.

The door was locked, so Ezio pulled his keys out, looking for the right one, and opened the front door. One hand reached out and turned on the lights. Mayor was up on the fridge, yet again, in a very dead sleep. Ezio smiled softly, and then refilled Mayor's food bowl. Drake didn't seem to be home, so Ezio wandered into the study, grabbing a book off the bookshelf (far fewer books than they owned; most of their books were at magic realm in Morgyn and Simeon's care), and headed out to fall onto the couch.

He'd read for a bit, until Morgyn got there.

* * *

One of these stone buildings was the right one. Morgyn had never mastered which one it was, but the blond had only come by a small handful of times. Perhaps it'd been two or three times by now, Morgyn had lost track, and Ezio and Drake had only lived here for the last year or so. Had it really been so short a period of time? That was what the sage's memories were saying. To be honest, however, the memory became quite rusty over time and began to forget things seemingly at random, so it was hard to say what Morgyn had forgotten.

The blond held a piece of paper in one hand, following the street. Snow wasn't Morgyn's favourite thing, but wading through it wasn't so difficult. Soon enough, Morgyn would find the right building and would be in Ezio and Drake's apartment, where it was presumably much warmer.

Ah, this one looked rather familiar. Morgyn squinted at the numbers on the outside, and then smiled, folded the paper, and put it away in a pocket. That was indeed the building the blond was looking for. Morgyn headed up the stairs, and then took the elevator to the right floor. The second-hardest thing was remembering which door was Ezio's, but then Morgyn heard Mayor Whiskers' feline screeching, and smiled wider, stepping forward to knock on the door it was coming from, setting the single suitcase in one hand down on the floor.

"Coming!" Ezio's voice answered from the other side, and a moment later, the door opened.

Ezio smiled, and Morgyn smiled back. Then, somewhat quietly, they both started squealing under their breath. After a moment, Mayor started to yowl in time with their squealing, and both started laughing, instead. Morgyn bounced up and down and then attached to Ezio in a very tight hug.

"Ack!" Ezio protested, stepping backwards. "Oh no, I've been caught, choking, not breathing!"

"You can complain, you can breathe just fine," Morgyn said, but let go all the same. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Ezio said. "Come on, come in." Ezio reached around Morgyn, picking the suitcase up off the floor, and holding the door open. Morgyn looked at him funny, but did go around him and head into the living room.

"I'll make tea," Drake said, closing his laptop, sitting on the coffee table, and getting up to go do that.

"Hi Drake," Morgyn greeted. "Thank you."

"Hi," Drake answered, smiling. "And you're welcome." Morgyn was more into coffee, rather than tea, but they didn't keep coffee on-hand, and only had it when Morgyn was around. It wasn't good for Ezio's heart. Or his _sleeping patterns_ , for that matter.

Ezio set Morgyn's suitcase down in the corner of the living room, opposite Mayor's cat tree. "So, how have you been?" he asked, looking at Morgyn.

"The usual," Morgyn answered, sitting down on the couch. Mayor hopped up onto the seat next to the blond. "L's been yelling at everyone for existing, Simeon probably doesn't get paid enough, and I'm still impatiently teaching everyone how to set fire to their enemies. And, you know, their fireplaces."

"That didn't really answer the question," Ezio said, quirking one eyebrow upward, as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against one of the counters.

"I thought it answered the question just fine?" Morgyn replied. The blond's tone made it sound like a question.

Ezio snorted. " _How_ have _you_ been, you know, personally?"

Morgyn turned back around, looking at the wall. "I've been better," the blond said softly.

There. _That_ was an actual response. Ezio's lips shifted to one side, and then he pushed off the counter, shuffling over to the couch. Lazily, he picked Mayor up, and sat down, setting the cat back in his lap. Of course, Mayor promptly jumped off the couch altogether, but eh, no one could say Ezio didn't _try_ not to displace him. "What's wrong?" Ezio asked.

Morgyn glanced at him, and then shrugged. "I don't really know," Morgyn answered. "I just get this weird feeling that… never mind."

"No, come on," Ezio protested. "You get this weird feeling that…?"

Morgyn sighed, reaching over and taking Ezio's hand. "That something's wrong," Morgyn said. "Just, it's this weird feeling of dread. Like something's just about to suddenly shift, and the peace will end."

Ezio smiled, just slightly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I get that feeling sometimes, too." He hadn't gotten that feeling anytime _recently_ , but he also knew that didn't mean anything. Ezio hadn't had the time to stop and think about too many things recently.

"This is what it's like, for you?" Morgyn asked.

Ezio shrugged. "Sometimes it's like this," he answered. "Other times it's weird moments where time seems to slow down. Like I'm watching everything in slow motion, and, if I think about it long enough, I can see all the pieces. Where they're all sitting, and where they'll all come down."

Morgyn's expression turned pensive. Every time Ezio talked like that, his eyes both sharpened and clouded over at once, like in that moment he became someone else. Morgyn thought it was unnerving, but it was another part of Ezio and the blond had to accept that part of him, too. All their lives, he'd known things that no one else did, seemed to have some idea of where things were going mapped out in his head. Like the world had opened up to him and poured its secrets into his head.

"Is it always like that?" Morgyn asked.

"Nah," Ezio answered, shrugging. "I haven't felt like that in a long time now. Whatever fate's up to, it's been quiet about it for a long while now." And it was just as well. Ezio had other things on his mind, now, but still, there were moments when he felt like he was waiting for something. Times when it felt like, perhaps, _everyone_ was waiting for something. The whole world holding its breath all at once.

* * *

The sound of rapid tapping on the keyboard was the only sound in the room. Drake had a book signing, and Morgyn was still asleep. Or at least, _presumably_ , Morgyn was still asleep. Ezio was lying down on the couch, with the laptop sitting on his stomach. He paused in his typing flurry, long enough to listen to the sounds. He could vaguely hear someone across the hall checking their mail, and very soft snorting from his bedroom. Morgyn was indeed still sleeping, then.

It wasn't like Ezio minded the quiet. It was a nice change of pace, sometimes. Not that the Culpepper apartments weren't generally quiet, but he had four university classes this term, and university was most certainly _not_ quiet. Then again, the Rasoyas liked to play music randomly, and get into fights at midnight. Well, Ezio and Drake couldn't hear it anymore. He'd enchanted their walls a long time ago into utter silence. The other neighbours were glad for it, too.

Ezio went back to typing, the rapid sounds of key clacking filling the room again. Normally, this was Drake's laptop, but he was letting Ezio use it to write his term paper. Ezio could theoretically just go to the library-it wasn't even like there wasn't one on campus-but he felt a lot more comfortable doing this sort of thing at home. In the most unexpected ways, perhaps, he was still a skittish little thing at times.

Other times, he went across the hall, banged on the Rasoyas' door so loud it woke up every floor of the building at once, and said something about you can shut up or I can make you and I promise you won't like it. For some reason, the Rasoyas didn't like him very much. Lilith thought it was hilarious. She and Caleb had moved out of Forgotten Hollow (at Vlad's suggestion, actually), a couple weeks ago. Maybe it'd been a month, by now.

What was time? Ezio didn't know her.

He heard a loud _thunk_ , somewhere amid the incessant clacking from the keys, and paused. After a moment, his door opened, and Morgyn sleepily toddled out into the kitchen. Mayor, wisely, moved out of the way and jumped onto the fridge, far out of the way of clumsy human feet.

"Morning," Morgyn said, yawning.

Ezio smiled. It was strange and also very nice to have Morgyn around again. "Morning," he answered. "There's coffee, if you would like some."

"Oh, thank the stars," Morgyn grumbled, shuffling to the pot to pour a cup. Morgyn was well-aware neither Ezio nor Drake really drank coffee. It was bad for Ezio's health, the caffeine, and Drake was never much into the habit of doing anything that Ezio couldn't. Morgyn had to wonder why that was, but, the blond supposed that was obvious. Morgyn ran a hand through loose, short blond waves, sat down at the dining room table with the cup of coffee in hand, and fell onto the wood.

"Still that tired?" Ezio asked.

"You know how things get in magic realm," Morgyn answered. These days, Morgyn was physically somewhere between male and female, and frequently got mistaken for one or the other. It was both nice and took some getting used to. The blond sat up long enough to drink some of the coffee, and then fell back down. "I had to make a copy of myself just to make it out here because we're so busy. _Someone_ has been being awfully liberal about how many random humans they give magic. Not sure who it is, either."

Ezio moved his head on the couch armrest to look at Morgyn properly. "Maybe it's just bubbling out," he said. "You know a lot of family lines probably have magic in their blood somewhere. With everything going on right now, and magic being on the edge of starting to die off, I wouldn't be surprised if we were seeing a sudden resurgence."

Morgyn grumbled into the table. "Don't use big words like 'resurgence' right now," the blond said.

Ezio snorted. "Can't keep up with it?"

"No," Morgy answered. "My brain forgot how to do English when it woke up this morning."

"Francais vous est-il plus facile?" Ezio answered, asking if French was easier.

Morgyn stared at him blankly, for several seconds, and then snorted. "Wow, that took me way too long to parse out," the blond said. "Apparently, no, French is not easier whatsoever. How do you even remember that much of it?"

Ezio shrugged. "I still think in French," he said. "Don't you?"

Morgyn didn't answer, but the blond didn't really have to, either. The answer was fairly clear by Morgyn's silence alone. "What are you working on?" Morgyn asked, instead.

"Oh, a term paper for one of my classes," Ezio said.

"Right, you're in university, now, aren't you?" Morgyn answered, pausing to drink some of the coffee and set it back down.

"Almost graduated," Ezio said. "After this, I'll have two more classes, and then I'll be done and can start my job."

Morgyn made a face. "I still think you shouldn't need to work," the blond said, nose turning up just slightly. "Drake's doing fine with the rent on his own anyway, and working would be a strain."

Ezio frowned. "I'd rather not leave Drake to do this on his own," he said. "He wasn't even _supposed_ to move in with me."

"I would've, if I wasn't already stuck in magic realm," Morgyn said. Pesky pesky Alls deciding on certain French blondies as Untamed Sages. Really, what a hindrance.

Ezio released a sigh. "Morgyn, you _both_ have lives you could live that I have no part of," he said. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Morgyn clearly didn't agree with that assessment, because the blond straightened up a little more. Morgyn didn't immediately argue with it, though. Ezio was as Ezio would be, and he didn't tend to place a lot of weight on himself. Morgyn had figured that out a few hundred years ago, and likely, had Jean to thank for it.

It was almost unfortunate the beast was likely to be dead now. Morgyn would _love_ to set him on fire.

"What other degree programmes do they have, anyway?" Morgyn asked. It was of the blond's not-so-humble opinion that Ezio would do much better in _something else_. He, of course, had decided to pursue a law degree, but why exactly he'd decided on that one, Morgyn didn't know, and had never asked. Maybe the blond _should_ ask.

"Lots of other things," Ezio answered. "The University of Britechester is better known for art programmes, and Foxbury does science, but they both offer the same degree programmes. It's just that getting an art degree from UBrite will get you further than one from Foxbury, and the same with science for Foxbury."

"They have science courses?" Morgyn asked. "What kind?" Ezio was far better suited to the sciences, if one asked Morgyn.

"All kinds," Ezio said. "I remember seeing um, computer science, economics, psychology, biology, and physics. From those, you could probably get into other things." He'd _kill_ for an astronomy degree, but if he wanted to go up there and see the stars himself, there was always physics… not to imply he thought he could handle _space travel_ , given his heart condition. Maybe space walking wasn't a good idea for him.

Still, sometimes, he maybe almost had a dream.

Morgyn, however, was very interested in that mention of biology. Wasn't that the study of living things? So _theoretically_ , one of those living things they could learn about might be _human_ living things. And it was _theoretically_ possible that, somewhere in there, Morgyn might learn how to save Ezio.

And there was _nothing_ Morgyn wanted to do more than figure out how to save Ezio. Maybe that was what Morgyn and Drake had been missing, before. The proper understanding of the _science_ behind what they were trying to do with magic.

"So, the better degree for a science programme would be gotten in Foxbury, right?" Morgyn asked.

"Yeah," Ezio said. "The University of Britechester does science but not as well."

Right then. "But you go to Britechester, no?"

"I do," Ezio answered, tilting his head back slightly. This sudden interest in university was very unexpected, especially given Morgyn was already pretty busy.

Well, Morgyn would never dream of going to a university Ezio wasn't in. Britechester it was. But first, getting in. And perhaps the semantics of _why_ Morgyn was suddenly interested in _science_ of all things, that was unimportant. One would _figure_ a magical sage would be wholly incompatible with the mere _idea_ of science, but actually, most things that were science, now, Morgyn was learning, were once called magic. There was a science behind magic, too, Morgyn simply didn't know it.

And just maybe, learning the sciences would make Morgyn a stronger spellcaster somewhere along the way, too.

* * *

Ezio should _probably_ take a break sometime soon. He shifted around, pinning the paper in his hand to the presentation board, and then glanced up at the wall. Oh, jeez, it was eleven at night. Ezio shook his head, and then moved around the board towards the couch. Morgyn had already turned in, but, Morgyn tended to be a morning person. Ever since they were kids, and there was no telling if this was because of their lifestyle, or because Morgyn was just a fire elemental of some kind trapped in a human body, but Morgyn awoke with the sun, and slept when it was gone.

Ezio was the opposite. It took work and discipline to stay on the morning schedule that he was on. If left to his own devices, Ezio would wake with the moon and sleep when the sun rose. He felt strongest at night, especially at night in the winter. But he always felt stronger in the winter, in general.

Morgyn was a fire elemental, and Ezio was a water elemental, or something to that effect. Were ice elementals a thing? Sure. Why not. Ezio had never met an elemental before in his _life_ , but that didn't mean they didn't exist. There were a lot of things that one couldn't see with their eyes, but had to see with their heart, instead, and yet that thing still existed all the same. It was hard to put words to it. But the more Ezio studied words, the more he found that, words were entirely unsuited to their purpose.

Ezio settled down on the couch, pulling the blanket over himself, trying to get comfortable. Actually, by now, he was too physically large to fit on this couch, but that was fine. It wasn't like he wasn't already accustomed to making small sacrifices for Morgyn, anyway. In some weird way, maybe doing so made him happy, somehow.

He never claimed to understand himself.

As he got comfortable, though, a loud keening melody tore through the silence. Ezio sat bolt upright, one arm throwing the blanket off, breathing hard in surprise. He hadn't heard that in so long… why now? It'd been silent for thirty years, maybe longer, he hadn't kept track of it, and now it was awake.

Grey eyes glanced at the bedroom door. Morgyn hadn't woken up, apparently, and he could still hear the quiet clicking of the keyboard keys from the office. Drake hadn't noticed, either. Ezio set his feet down on the floor, and stood up, shuffling over to the coffee table the television was sitting on. In the cabinet, tucked into the back, was the leather-bound mystery book. Ezio reached in, pulled it out, and set it on the floor. The cover was alive with swirls of dancing lights.

He sensed something watching him, and he turned around. A strange pattern of stars sat outside the window, hovering above the street. Ezio's eyes grew wide. It was so close, he could almost make out the shape the stars went in. As he watched it, however, he could see the faint outline of its body, marked by the stars. It looked, perhaps, like some kind of a winged fish? Some sort of a dinosaur, maybe.

Ezio went over to the window, watching the brighter stars that he thought were its eyes. The end of its snout was pointed, like a beak, and Ezio reached out, his hand going right through the glass, to touch it. Just before he would've, everything shifted, and he was surrounded in darkness, the star creature gone again.

He recognised where he was. A glance down told him he was in the blackened cloak with the fur trim, again, and he raised a hand. The frost hadn't attached to his hand yet, but he knew it was waiting. He could feel it, this time.

Maybe he'd gotten stronger.

Ezio took a breath in, the exhale hanging in the air as vapour for a moment, before vanishing again. He looked around, and then followed the pull that he recognised as Makana. She'd been silent, thus far, just like she said she would be, leaving him in peace thus far. Apparently, something had changed. Even as he wondered what it was that had changed, Ezio had a feeling he already knew.

The sounds turned from snow crunching to the tapping of heels on glass flooring, and soon enough, he found her. This time, she looked like herself, and not Keisha. A long braid, of many colours and stars in the strands, fell down her back. Her skin was darker than Keisha's, her features notably different, more _her_. He didn't know how he knew it was her, he just did. Maybe everyone knew their spirit guide, when they saw them.

"Makana?" he asked. His voice echoed around slightly, but he could barely hear himself, or the echoes, over the constant roaring that came from the twisting darkness.

Her dark eyes turned to look at him, and then her head turned, too. She seemed sad, about something, but he knew better than to directly ask, either. She didn't tend to give him direct answers.

"Makana, what's wrong?" he asked.

Makana tilted her head, and then smiled sadly. "The storm has come," she whispered, but even though she whispered, it echoed in his head, grew louder the more it bounced around in there. The roaring amplified, became harder to ignore, and just as Ezio's head started to hurt with the force of it, he jolted awake, and hit the floor with a loud _thud_.

Oh, _ow_ , damn it… Ezio sat up, finding himself sitting next to the coffee table. Papers were scattered across it, from working on his presentation.

"Are you okay?" a voice whispered, and Ezio startled and turned to find Drake in the study doorway.

"Fine," Ezio said. "I'm fine, sorry, I just, fell asleep."

Drake looked concerned, but he didn't argue. "Maybe you should turn in," he said.

"Yeah," Ezio agreed, nodding. "I will."

Drake closed the study door again, and within a few moments, Ezio could hear the sound of the keyboard clacking. Morgyn's occasional snorts and giggles came through the bedroom door, and Ezio stood up. He heard it, again, the melody that he'd almost forgotten what sounded like, from somewhere beyond here, crying for help even decades later. And though he couldn't see it, he turned towards the window, as he _sensed_ , rather than _saw_ , something very large moving past.

The storm, indeed, had come. And that feeling that, if he slowed down and watched, he could see all the little Dominoes lined up, and ready to fall, had come back.

Ezio thought they were calling it _dread_ anymore.


	3. The Seasons of My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did kind of drop off the planet here for a hot second after last chapter, sorry, lol I was playing the game. I need to play it so I know how certain ships go and which ones work out and don't and all of that, so I'm trying not to get too far ahead of the game in the outline redo. I think that was my problem before, with the outlines, it's that I honestly have no idea what the game's going to do.  
> However, what I do know is, Draziandra is absolutely on because Drake and Ezio and Cassandra just cannot stay away from each other and look at one another in moste interesting manner. xD Anyway, I have eight Sims in the OFAF save household now I'm dying, but it's about to be nine because I need to steal another one.  
> Also if you don't know and want bonus pics and fun OFAF trivia and such you can find me on both Instagram and Tumblr as lespritdemort.  
> Hey look, Cassandra woke up, and Drake immediately went to go talk to her. God they're ridiculous(ly cute).  
> Landslide, Fleetwood Mac.

"L's gotten weirdly attached to some guy that happened to find the gate in Glimmerbrook," Morgyn said, fiddling with the egg rolls on the table. The blond couldn't quite figure out how these were supposed to work, but Morgyn was also too proud to ask.

Knowing that, across the table with a bowl of sweet and sour pork, Ezio reached over and took one of Morgyn's egg rolls, just to subtly show the dork how to eat them.

Morgyn's green eyes glanced up at him, and then the blond wordlessly copied him. "His name's Don or something like that," Morgyn went on.

"Don Lothario?" Ezio asked. He had a bit of a reputation out here, if you listened to the right rumours. Either Ezio listened to the right rumours, or had the right friends. Perhaps it was a little of column A and a little of column B.

"That's the one, yeah," Morgyn answered, setting the egg roll back down. "I haven't met him personally. Bad news?"

"You could say that," Ezio replied. "I hope Don knows what he's getting into, and makes some smart choices, for his own sake, because otherwise, he's going to get hexed into next century, and you'll probably have to deal with L being _extra_ hissy for a few weeks."

Morgyn made a face. "I don't think I like this guy."

Ezio snorted. "He's cute, at least. Unfortunately, he knows it, and he's the type of guy where it's quite unfortunate that he knows it."

"Yup, I know that sort," Morgyn said. The blond had met a few over the years and generally, they weren't great guys to know. On the other hand, L was a grown ass woman and could make her own choices and bad decisions. Besides, trying to tell her what to do ended about as well as trying to tell Morgyn what to do.

Translation: Badly.

"Well, anyway," Morgyn started, "other than that, things are mostly the same in magic realm. Occasionally something blows up, but it's a steady thing."

Ezio looked a bit amused. "You make it sound like it's boring."

"What?" Morgyn said. "No… I'd never be bored of magic realm. Ex…cept I'm bored of magic realm. I like helping people, and teaching is weirdly rewarding now that I'm used to it, it's just, nothing really _changes_. Everyone has the same issues with the same things day in and day out and the same potions explode for the same people."

Ezio smiled. "Well, for what it's worth, I figured you'd get bored of it eventually, and I'm not judging you. How long are you staying?"

"Six years?" Morgyn answered, sounding a little sheepish.

Ezio shook his head. "Oh no, no you're gonna have to get a job."

"What?" Morgyn asked, arching an eyebrow.

"A job," Ezio repeated. "I'm way too broke for that, Morgyn, I can barely afford to support _myself_."

Morgyn looked a little concerned. "Is it that bad?"

"It's gotten better," Ezio said. "Troi's office helped me get on medical assistance to help pay the medical bills and for my prescriptions," of which he had about a thousand. "But the bills are a little bit random, plus food costs factor in, and of course university tuition and the textbooks… you're always welcome in my home, Morgs, absolutely, I just can't promise I'll always _have_ one."

Morgyn frowned. The blond didn't know that he was still struggling that much, but then Drake had only been out here with him for the last year. Before that, Ezio had been out on the street, and if Morgyn wasn't a sage, it would've been the blond that'd moved in with him, on no uncertain terms. As it was, it was almost amazing that Ezio had managed to stay on the street for so long. He was good at hiding things, when he so chose to.

Still, he had a point. Morgyn _did_ have some money put away, from the other times the blond had been out here. Actually, there was more money put away than Morgyn knew what to do with, and the blond thought about handing a bunch of it to Ezio. On the other hand, Ezio was more proud than Morgyn was, and would likely reject it. Morgyn _could_ just move in with them, but eventually, the money would run out, and living with sexual tension king one and two was a special level of hell.

"I'll figure something out," Morgyn said. "What kind of jobs can you get with a science degree, anyway?"

Ezio made a face. "Your weird interest in science is weird," he said.

"Nah," Morgyn answered. "I always had the interest in science, just nothing to do with it."

"If you say so," Ezio replied. "Well, depends on what _kind_ of science you get a degree in. Biology would get you work as a doctor, or marine biology, botany… but computer science is better suited to computer engineering and programming. Physics is if you want to be an astronaut, mechanical engineering, or general science, and psychology deals with education and covert ops. You'd make a pretty good teacher. I mean, you already are one."

Morgyn snorted softly. Yeah, but that wasn't what Morgyn wanted to do, probably. The blond's interest in biology hadn't waned since Morgyn had asked about it, and if it was a viable route, Morgyn had every intention of following it. Not that the blond had any idea how good at science Morgyn would be, but that was something to worry about later. It wasn't like Ezio would have an answer to that, anyway. That was something that Morgyn would have to discover independently.

What science the blond had been exposed to, however, had at least been interesting.

"In other news," Morgyn said, smiling a bit. "How are you and Drake?"

Ezio loosed a groan. _That_ didn't take long. "Already?" he asked.

"Of course," Morgyn replied, munching on egg roll. "It's been a few months since I saw you last. _Someone_ has to bother you about Drake, I can't imagine your _cat's_ been doing it."

Ezio looked incredulous. "I'd have figured by now you would've forgotten all about it."

"Nah," Morgyn said. "I won't forget about it until I die. And even then, maybe I'll be bothering you about it as a ghost."

"Presumably, I'm going to die first," Ezio said, raising an eyebrow.

Well, Morgyn didn't like to think about that. The blond simply shrugged. "Maybe so."

"We're still just friends," Ezio said. "And it's staying that way. I don't date anymore, remember?"

Yeah, Morgyn remembered that. The blond also thought Drake would be an exception, though. When you were in love with someone as long as Ezio and Drake had been in love with each other, it was hard to imagine there wouldn't be exclusive exceptions.

"For now," Morgyn said.

Ezio snorted, and shook his head. Morgyn was like that. "You do know there's a such thing as platonic love, right?" Clearly Morgyn had missed this.

"I know," Morgyn said. "I just don't think either of you _exclusively platonically_ love each other."

If Morgyn said so.

* * *

Morgyn had wandered off to go hang out at a bar. Ezio was going home, because for one thing, bars were bad places for Ezio to be. For another thing, he'd gotten tired a long time ago, but that wasn't surprising. Ezio couldn't generally stay active for very long before just existing became tiring. It was a strange phenomena, but he likely had his heart to thank for that.

It wasn't like it bothered him. Ezio had never really had a life to speak of, not that many friends of course. Really, Morgyn, Lilith, and Drake were Ezio's _only_ friends, probably. L and Simeon could be considered to be somewhere on the list, but maybe not all the same. It was probably sad that Ezio's only real friends were Morgyn, Lilith, and Drake. Morgyn was his twin, and Drake had saved his life. Strange choices, or maybe not. Lilith was a little less sad, but the Vatores were cousins of the Dussault line. Ezio only knew them because Drake did.

Ezio made his way up the elevator, and then took a slight detour to check the mail, one hand running through his hair, slightly longer than ear length black waves. Idly, one hand reached up and shoved his glasses, simple black frames, up his nose. There was a small stack of envelopes in the mailbox, but looking at it, it seemed to be bills, bills, and more bills. Oh, wait, this was in the wrong mailbox. He paused, turning back around to stuff one of the envelopes into the Rasoyas' mailbox, and then went back to slowly making his way to the door.

Mayor Whiskers seemed to know he was there already, because he'd started yowling. Ezio sighed, nudging the door open, setting the mail on the kitchen counter. Mayor hopped onto the counter, too, and bumped his head against Ezio's arm.

"Hi there," Ezio greeted, reaching over and scritching behind Mayor's ear. The cat then wandered off to go do anything besides be around a human, as often he did. Ezio shook his head after him.

He and Mayor had met out on the street. Both with no place to call home, they'd ended up taking care of each other. Really; Ezio would share what he found with the cat, and sometimes the cat would show up with fish. One winter, Mayor showed up with a scarf in his mouth, and though the cold didn't really bother Ezio very much, he still ended up using it.

In fact, he still _had_ it.

Though, now that he thought about it, how _old_ was this cat, anyway? He'd worry about that later, maybe. He'd made it possible for _humans_ to live forever, maybe he could get a _cat_ to do it, too.

Ezio shook his head, wandering into the living room to fall heavily onto the couch, his head falling onto the back, eyes staring at the ceiling. As he sat there, his head resting on the back of the couch, he heard a door open and close. Then, a shadow fell on him. One grey eye popped open to find Drake looking down at him and seeming rather perplexed.

"Is Morgyn still as exhausting as usual?" Drake asked.

"Yep," Ezio answered. "I don't have the energy for this."

Drake looked amused, loosing a quiet snort, and then went around the couch to sit down. "Did you guys have a good time at least?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Ezio answered. "Went down to the food stalls, stopped by the Warble, went a few other places, and then Morgyn got distracted by bars."

Drake made a noise at the back of his throat. "I'm glad you didn't go with," he said.

"It seemed like a pretty bad idea," Ezio answered, smiling. "How's stuff here?"

"Mayor clawed your bed again," Drake said. "But other than that, nothing notable. Well, Ms. Rasoya _did_ come by to yell at me for being loud. I haven't done anything today except type."

"You know her complaints are half valid and half bullshit anyway," Ezio said. That was nothing new to them.

Drake sighed. "I suppose you're right. It's still bothersome." Geeta had a way with ruining your day. It was either some kind of a talent or one of the most ridiculous skills to hone Drake had ever heard of. Maybe there was some logic in that somewhere that he couldn't see. That was just as well. "Would you like some tea?" Drake asked.

Ezio leaned back a little on the couch to look at him. "Yeah, that sounds nice, thanks," he answered.

Drake smiled slightly, moving around the counters to start on making tea. And Ezio couldn't help but wonder, how things would turn out for them, if Ezio admitted his feelings. It was just as well that he didn't, he figured. Drake had never shown any interest in him, not like almost everyone else Ezio had ever met had. Maybe there was a reason for that, maybe he _did_ have _some_ interest, and simply didn't show it. Drake wasn't a terribly overt person, anyway. That was probably part of how he and Ezio had become friends in the first place. Ezio _needed_ someone that wasn't terribly loud at the time, and that became even more important later.

Still, the fear that it would irrevocably alter their relationship with each other, and then it wouldn't work out, leaving them in an extremely awkward situation, overrode everything else. Ezio didn't want to lose Drake because he went and wanted something more than this. Every time he thought he might tell him, that thought held him back. Ezio would rather things stayed exactly like this, than everything changed and then went up in flames. It hurt. Of course it did. Ezio had just decided a long time ago that the pain was worth it.

"Morgyn kind of asked to move in," Ezio said.

"Oh?" Drake asked.

"I told the dolt that we can't really afford it, so a job would be required," Ezio answered. "I think we could manage fine enough, I just worry too much I guess."

Drake shook his head. "It's understandable." Before he'd showed up, Ezio hadn't had much of _anything_ for far too long, if one asked Drake. It made sense he wasn't exactly jumping to go back to it now that he was past it.

"Strangely, Morgyn's really interested in a science degree all of the sudden," Ezio said. "I guess the science runs in us both."

Drake smiled. "Morgyn seems more suited to practical sciences, but you've got a decent handle on the theoretical ones."

"I guess," Ezio said, snorting. "I don't normally have time for science around everything else."

"You do seem to enjoy it," Drake said, finishing up making the tea and pouring a glass. The rest, he put in the fridge. "Maybe you should find the time."

Well, maybe. Ezio still had never thought too hard about what he wanted, and didn't know what that was. "Maybe," Ezio said, taking the glass as Drake leaned over the couch and offered it to him. He'd worry about what he wanted later, when he had what he needed. Ezio paused, drinking about half the glass of tea, and then set it down on the coffee table. "I'll go for a shower."

"Okay," Drake answered, watching him shuffle off to the bathroom. And then he sighed to himself, and wondered when it was Ezio would come off survival mode and start _living_.

* * *

If he recalled correctly, she was usually out here at this time of day. Ezio didn't come out to the Arts Quarter very _often_ , but once in a while, he'd find his way over here. True to its name, the Arts Quarter was home to a lot of art, and Ezio often enjoyed it. He didn't really have the time to _produce_ it, but he did have an easel and paints. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he'd manage to get hold of a canvas, and he'd paint. Things that were, things that are, things that never could've been, things that only existed in his head, things that everyone had somewhere in them. That was what he painted. The life that he never got to live.

He made his way over to where artists normally sold their work, dressed in a loose hooded black jacket over a t-shirt, black slacks, and surprisingly, heels. He found them more comfortable sometimes. It was a strange phenomena to describe but he learnt a long time ago, Ezio Ember was not exactly male, anymore than Morgyn Ember was exactly female. Sometimes he wanted to wear high heels.

He still hadn't quite made it to skirts, though.

In one hand, he carried a bottle of tea. It was an old soda bottle that'd been repurposed and had the labelling ripped off, but it was good enough. It wasn't snowing today, but it was still very cold. Ezio didn't feel it. He never did, anymore.

And when he found her, thick waves of black hair, slightly bronzed skin, dark, rounded eyes, he smiled a little to himself. She was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen in his life. He'd never, _ever_ tell her that. Of course, Ezio had seen her before. It took a while, but he eventually remembered that flash of a smile beneath the rim of a conical hat.

She'd been beautiful then, too, but he'd never told anyone of that particular vision. Even now, he had no idea what he'd had it for. Most of the time, he could figure out the purpose or meaning behind one of those flashes by what he saw and the particulars of how he saw them. This one? He hadn't the faintest idea what _that_ was about. Perhaps, it was just the universe telling him that, when he found her, he was meant to be around her.

He was trying not to be terribly intimidated by her. It was harder than it sounded.

A slight smile crossed his face, as he practically appeared at her side. She turned around and squeaked in surprise.

"Ezio, hi," she said, smiling.

"I thought you could use some tea or something," he said, offering the bottle to her.

She smiled, taking the bottle. "Thank you," she said. The close proximity to her set off electricity under his skin, the quiet hum of dormant magic.

Her name was Cassandra Goth, and she was, perhaps, the last of the five families.

"How have you been?" she asked, opening the bottle and drinking some of the tea. It was green tea.

"Alright enough," Ezio answered. He was watching her; she had a habit of being weirdly clumsy, sometimes, and he wasn't sure why because any other time she seemed to manage everything just fine. And then Ezio was around, and somehow she managed to drop and break things half the time. "How have you been? Any luck selling paintings?"

Cassandra huffed, screwing the cap back on the bottle and setting it on the concrete under her. "Nope," she said. "I have a weird style, I'm not surprised by this."

Ezio looked a bit apologetic. Her work _was_ a little on the dark side, but everyone had a dark side, even as they liked to pretend they didn't. The duality of man was a subject often spoken and theorised about. No one understood it, not really, but humans barely understood anything. The more Ezio understood, the more he came to realise that he didn't know anything at all.

If he was guessing right, she was a dormant spellcaster. Oh, he knew of her, but he sure had to dig to find that information. The Goths had done quite a commendable job, hiding themselves among the mundane and normal. But there were cracks in their armour. Sometimes, quite _large_ cracks. Bella Goth, as it happened, seemed to be a weirdness magnet. If Cassandra was the Cassandra he thought she was, she was related to the Crumplebottoms and the Bachelors, as well. The Bachelors were mediums and seers, mostly, but once in a while, one would come out a full-fledged spellcaster. Her bloodline was powerful, and whether she knew it or not, her blood sang to the pulse of magic.

He had a feeling she wasn't named Cassandra just because it sounded pretty.

Ezio shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Cassandra's gaze fell to his feet for a moment, and then met his eyes again. "Your work is unique," Ezio said.

Cassandra snorted. "Yeah?" she asked. "Is unique the new polite word for weird?"

Ezio couldn't help the quiet laugh. "If that's how you want to look at it, sure." He wasn't going to argue with it too much. Cassandra could believe whatever it was she wanted about his interest in her art.

"Hey," she started, "for what it's worth… thank you. For helping with my family's painting." It'd been gifted to a family friend, who had later passed away, and the painting was to be sent back to the Goths. Unfortunately, her children decided to sell it for the ten thousand it was worth, instead. Ezio's legal knowledge had come in handy, and he'd managed to wrangle it back into the ownership of the Goths.

They didn't care about the money. They wanted the painting.

Ezio smiled. "You're welcome," he answered. "But I didn't mind doing it."

"I know, it just, seemed a little strange to drag you into it," Cassandra said.

"I dragged _myself_ into that one," Ezio argued. Being fair about it, he wouldn't have even _known_ about it if he hadn't come into the Casbah Gallery one day to her screaming one of the employees up one side and down the other because they had the painting in question on display, but that was into semantics territory, and didn't matter.

Yes, so he had. Cassandra frowned slightly. He'd dragged himself into that situation, fixed it, and then refused the money her parents would've happily showered him in. He was such a strange person. Whenever she thought she understood Ezio, she found that she didn't.

"So," Ezio started, "is this the part where I awkwardly ask you out for coffee, you say yes, we go out, I ramble about nerdy and nonsensical things you don't really care about, we part ways and you decide you never want to see me again and don't call me again? Or should we skip all that, and go right to my going away?"

Cassandra startled, looking up at him. Self-deprecating jokes were how he dealt with nervousness, she'd learnt that some time ago, so he was nervous, and he was serious. He'd just asked her out, in that roundabout, awkward way of his.

That was fucking adorable.

"I think I'll take the coffee venture," she said.

Oh. That was somehow unexpected. Ezio looked befuddled for a moment, and then nodded. "How about this Saturday? There's a decent coffee shop in Magnolia Promenade I think will work okay."

"That's good for me, yeah," she answered.

"Okay. Well. I should go back to being a functional human being, and I'll um. I'll call," he said, stepping back.

"Okay," Cassandra answered.

With one more nod, Ezio turned around and headed back to the Spice Market, with just a bit of extra spring in his step.

* * *

He only had this term and one more left, and then he was done with his degree, and could start working, instead. So far, they'd done very well operating under the strain, but truthfully, Ezio had no reason to think they wouldn't.

Drake was making a decent amount in royalties. He wasn't exactly a huge author star, but he had a small, comfortable cult following, a guaranteed percentage of sales. When Ezio bothered to paint, his paintings had a small cluster of collectors that were usually more than happy to buy them. He didn't make much more than it cost to create them, but it was something, and Ezio had learnt a long time ago not to be too picky.

Still, he did need to pass these classes if he was going to move onto the last two. Ezio was _so_ close to being done with this, and then he'd be bringing home five, six thousand a day, and they could get a bigger apartment if they wanted to, or even buy a house. He wasn't going to think things like maybe he could afford a penthouse, because he doubted it (though he'd love to get one, as it turned out Ezio loved the city). It was more like, it'd just be nice to live in something more comfortable, rather than cramped.

And to make matters worse, the apartment they were in had a _ghost_ problem, and every so often, Ezio would get a never-ending migraine from it.

He paused on the sentence he was scribbling into his notebook, slid the books slightly across the table away from him, and stretched out. Sitting still in a chair for too long tended to cause varying pains as a matter of course, and Ezio thought he'd been sitting here for about half an hour. He reached across the table, checking his phone. Nope, it'd been three hours.

Maybe a break was in order.

As he thought that, sliding down in his seat, someone came up beside him and sat down. A glance over revealed Lilith, settling down in the seat beside him, setting her books on the table. Ezio smiled. It was nice to see her, but they saw a lot of one another anymore. She and Caleb lived across the hall, but she also attended Britechester. As it turned out, they were working on the same degree programme, too. She was a notable amount of time behind him, but not much. She'd be done in another year or so.

"Nice to see you," Ezio said.

"Yeah, it's nice to be seen," Lilith answered, smiling. "How goes the presentation and paper?"

Ezio answered with a quiet groan.

Lilith loosed an amused noise. "That bad?"

Ezio shook his head. "No, I'm just having a hard time focusing right now." He didn't say the bit about how everything seemed to be converging to mess up his life suddenly. He didn't tell her anything else about the situation with the ghosts and the warnings Makana gave him, nor the mystery leather-bound book and its tales. Actually, he'd almost forgotten it. It'd all started one day, and then suddenly, it'd stopped all at once, and naive little Ezio had forgotten all about it.

Now, here it all was again. It was almost like, sometimes, he could almost see through the veil between the worlds, into the other worlds. Was that a thing? Probably not.

"Any particular reason why?" Lilith asked. "Or is it just one of those excess nervous energy things?"

Ezio arched an eyebrow. "Morgyn has that problem, not me."

"Oh trust me," Lilith said. "You definitely have it, too. It just takes you a bit longer to reach the edge of your tolerance of it, that's all."

Right. He supposed Lilith might know. Ezio had never thought about it. Oh wait! "Speaking of Morgyn, the dolt's over at our place. Might sneak across the hallway to go spend time with Caleb at some point." Ezio was going to hope somewhere in this part where neither Ezio nor Lilith were home. That'd be preferable. Neither of them would have to deal with it in that case.

Morgyn talked about how he and Drake were so into each other, but Morgyn and Caleb were about as bad, if not worse. Why Caleb hadn't said anything, _that_ one Ezio never figured out. Ezio would be just fine with Morgyn and Caleb ending up together. The vampire had stayed, after all. Morgyn had gone on a wild ride of self-discovery and then _transitioned_ and Caleb was still here, still looking at Morgyn like the blond was the most precious thing in the world to him.

Ezio could leave Morgyn to Caleb without regrets.

In the meantime, however, he didn't really have any interest in getting any more familiar with their relationship with each other than he already was, thank you muchly.

"Good note," Lilith said, "I'll try and stay out of the apartment for a while. Feel like hanging out with me?"

"Ah, I have to eventually go to sleep," Ezio said. "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, too."

"How's that going, anyway?" Lilith asked, flipping through her notebook.

"Fine enough," Ezio said. "Troi's got a new experimental treatment she's interested in me trying, but my insurance won't cover it yet."

Lilith made a face, and nodded. "You can't stay poor forever," she said. "Sooner or later, something will give. I believe that."

Ezio smiled. "Yeah," he said, his hand moving to tap his pen against the notebook on the table in front of him. "Eventually, I'll graduate, be an attorney, and be rolling in dough, as they say now. In the meantime, it just takes some patience and a strong will to get past this part, that's all."

"Well, I've never met anyone with stronger a will than you've got, at least," Lilith said.

Ezio snorted. "It's nothing special," he said.

"You weren't always like this," Lilith said. "I'd say it's notable. You've changed. Maybe we all have."

"I just got some stubbornness out on the street is all," Ezio said. Maybe for some people that seemed notable, but he knew that it was more of a matter of necessity than anything he'd decided to do on his own.

But, no, he didn't think he was still the person he used to be, when he still lived in magic realm and knew very little else. Neither was he much like the young boy in France. He'd changed, yes. Maybe not always for the better, but he had all the same.

"Hey, I'm proud of it," Lilith said. "It's better not to try and remain the same. Everything changes, Ezio, even as it doesn't change at all."

"That makes no sense," Ezio said, laughing.

"Doesn't it?" she asked. "Humans are much the same as a whole, just with cell phones and internet now. But there are so many things that are nothing like they used to be."

He supposed she had a point. Ezio hadn't thought about it, too much. He was always too busy just trying to make it to tomorrow, but that was always how it was with him. "I guess," he said. "Sorry to ditch you, but I'm going to take a break and walk around campus for a bit."

"Okay," Lilith answered, smiling. "Don't get into too much trouble."

Ezio snorted, standing and gathering his books together. Nah, he never got into trouble. It was more like, trouble found him and he had a little fun with it for a bit.

* * *

The sun was already set by the time he trudged in the door. It was nearing midnight, so he'd eaten something small and then retreated to his room, and Drake didn't complain too much. Sometimes he looked at him with that weird 'mom' look. Drake was somewhere between his best friend and some kind of a weird caretaker, and Ezio was never sure how to feel about it all. Like most things he wasn't sure what to do with, he didn't think about it.

Ezio flopped over on his bed, and then heard a plaintive mew. His eyebrows raised up, one hand setting his glasses on the side table, and then he dropped over the edge of the bed. Mayor Whiskers was under the bed frame. "… well hello there," he said, smiling. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, but he paid it no mind.

Mayor meowed in response, and then stood up and came out from under the bed, bonking his nose against Ezio's.

Ezio scrunched his nose up. It was a good thing he wasn't allergic to pets, or Mayor's habit of bonking into his face would be more torturous than it already was. It wasn't like he'd mind it. Not enough to change his mind about keeping the cat, at least. He and Mayor were both strays that had adopted each other, and Ezio wasn't going to turn away from him now.

Mayor turned around, and meowed at him again. Ezio tilted his head slightly, and then scooted back onto the bed, leaning over to grab something off the side table. Then, he held it out, a little stick, and pressed a button. A laser aimed at the floor, and Mayor's interest was immediately piqued. Ezio smiled, making the light bounce across the floor, watching the cat follow it, his little butt wiggling in the air just before he pounced.

Ezio wasn't a _huge_ fan of animals. You ran into a lot of them out on the street, from rodents to stray cats and dogs, occasional rabbits and deer, possums… Mostly, the animals minded their business, and Ezio minded his own, and their paths very rarely crossed. With Mayor, it was something else. He always seemed to be a _little_ bit smarter than other cats. He'd been out on the street a long time, Ezio thought, and he'd figured out how it worked a long time ago. In some ways, it was almost like Mayor Whiskers was trying to teach _Ezio_ how things worked on the streets.

He'd never told Drake or Morgyn, but he'd gotten shot more than once out there. There were street gangs, of course. And sometimes, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why no one had yet to connect high poverty levels to high _crime_ levels, that Ezio didn't know. Maybe the truth was, plenty of people had. The people with the power to change it simply didn't care enough.

Ezio said that he was becoming a lawyer because he wanted the money. While he was sure that was at least _part_ of his motivation, he thought maybe there was a little more to it than that. That maybe he wanted to save some of those kids out there on the street, and give them the chance to make something _good_ out of their lives, despite the shitty hand that they'd been dealt. Violence begat more violence. Crime begat more crime. The only way for the cycle to end was for it to be deliberately broken.

Ezio didn't know if _he_ could break it, but he wanted to try, if nothing else.

Mayor went a little dizzy, as Ezio idly ran the laser in circles, and he laughed. "Sorry about that," he said.

Mayor, surprisingly, didn't seem annoyed, just went to chasing his tail as Ezio turned off the laser.

"Come here," he said, setting the laser back on the table and scooting back on the bed.

Mayor looked up at him, tilting his head, and then padded over and jumped up. Ezio gently ran a hand along his fur. Mayor was quite good at keeping himself clean, but Ezio dreaded the day when he wasn't so good at it anymore. Not because he thought bathing the cat would be a problem; more because it'd mean Mayor was in his twilight years. Ezio didn't know what he'd do, if Mayor got there before he did.

"Hey," Ezio said, softly.

Mayor looked up at him and tilted his head. It was almost like the cat could understand Simlish.

"Someday, do you want to be my familiar?" Ezio asked.

Mayor, of course, twitched one ear and then nuzzled Ezio's hand and purred. He didn't know what a familiar _was_ , no doubt. Or maybe he did, and that was why Mayor wouldn't leave him alone, when they were out there on the street.

Ezio smiled. "I've never bound a familiar before," he said. "Not a cat, either, for sure. I don't think it works any differently than with any other familiar. I wanted to get a Veild, but you know what, you're better than a Veild." Even if only because Ezio _knew_ Mayor, and had bonded with him.

Mayor jumped from the bed, onto the side table, and then padded across the room to hop onto Ezio's dresser. He always did sleep up there. Ezio didn't have any hope of getting him to sleep on his bed with him, but Mayor wasn't that kind of a cat.

Just like Ezio wasn't terribly affectionate, either, he supposed. They suited each other in a weird kind of way.

"Night Mayor," Ezio said, standing up and shuffling across the room to turn off the light.

Mayor made a quiet murring sound, rolled over onto his back on the dresser, and promptly fell asleep.

Ezio envied the cat that. He simply smiled to himself, and climbed into bed. And he'd just hope that nothing woke up him prematurely, and the terrible future that was coming would wait just a _little_ longer.


	4. My Heart is Untamed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ummmm I have very little to say about this one. Except there's a lot of lame going on. Drazio and Cagyn are both the same kind of fucking lame! Also my girlfriend and I were bantering old stuff for Drazio and like, it was obvious even back then they were madly in love with each other so like I don't know how they got here. And they're still... not... dating... they do this specifically to ruin my life. They're like, And fuck Ken in particular!  
> Oh also, Brandon and the Casa di Colori are not mine; Brandon (Soriano) was made by my best friend Tian, and the Casa di Colori was basically developed as a group effort on Simprovise (simprovise.net), the Sims 4 RP.  
> Story of My Life, One Direction.  
> I coulda spent more time on the chapter image, but I decided not to, because I'm a jerk that way. XD

The campus looked nice. Morgyn decided that the second the blond set eyes on the grounds. The weathered stone and varying vines scattered around brought a strange sense of peace. The sage could almost smell the old books high up on the shelves in the library, tucked where none could reach now.

Morgyn had the qualifications, it turned out, to make it into Foxbury's distinguished degrees for the programmes the blond was interested in. Ezio went to Britechester, however. Perhaps it was stupid, but Morgyn had no intention of attending a university Ezio wasn't in. It made it easier to keep half an eye on him. Ezio liked to forget it and pretend otherwise, but his heart condition did still exist, and it still bothered him. He'd made leaps and bounds of progress over the years, with medication and physical therapy, but someday, it wouldn't be enough anymore.

Call Morgyn crazy, but the blond wanted to be there when it wasn't. Ezio wasn't allowed to leave without Morgyn there to see him off.

In the meantime, Ezio was doing better than he ever had in magic realm. For all that Morgyn didn't like that Ezio lived now separate from the blond, Morgyn also had to admit that it was doing him a fair deal of good. Morgyn may not like it, but this was not now and never really had been about Morgyn liking anything. It was about Ezio healing some, and regaining some semblance of control over his life.

He seemed happier to Morgyn, now, and the blond supposed just about anyone would, when they were no longer collapsing all the time. But what did Morgyn know of Ezio's pain, anyway? Hundreds of years later, and it still felt like there were sides of Ezio that Morgyn did not now, and maybe never would, understand. There were sides and parts of Morgyn that maybe Ezio would never understand, either.

Morgyn held the acceptance letter from Britechester in one hand, and wandered around almost aimlessly through the campus grounds. It must've been a bad time, because it seemed no one was around at the moment. Morgyn considered coming back later, but then found a sign that told the blond where to go. Hmph. Just when the blond was about to resort to magic. Morgyn redirected to follow that pathway, and then the blond came to the end of the walkway and looked very confused. Morgyn turned back around, and again, several times, before finally finding the doorway the blond was looking for.

Why this office was so damn difficult to find, maybe that one, Morgyn would never know. Perhaps Morgyn wasn't doing a very good job of adulting today, either.

As the blond wandered in, Morgyn tapped lightly on the side of the open door into the admissions office. The few present in the office startled slightly, turning to look at the newcomer, and one stepped forward.

"Welcome to Britechester," she said. "Come to inquire about enrollment?"

"I'd like to start my first term," Morgyn answered.

"Okie dokie, do you have your acceptance papers?" The woman fluidly sat down at a computer, and began typing.

Morgyn wordlessly handed her the papers. She murmured a thank you, and flipped through them, looking increasingly confused.

"I'm sorry, you want to enroll here?" she asked. "You're not looking for Foxbury?"

"No," Morgyn said. "I'd like to attend here, thanks."

The woman looked at the blond in incredulous confusion. "With qualifications like these, you could easily make it into Foxbury's distinguished programmes for these degrees. It just seems like -"

"I know," Morgyn answered. "Foxbury's a little too modern for my tastes." Actually, Morgyn found it kind of charming. It simply wasn't anyone's business which university Morgyn was or was not attending, nor the reasoning behind it.

"Alright then," the woman answered, going back to typing at the computer. "You'll still get a jump in the working world, of course, but perhaps not as much of one as you may otherwise."

"It's fine," Morgyn replied. "I'm a fairly hard worker, I'll make up the deficit with no real trouble I'm sure."

"Okay then, if you know what you're doing," she answered, and fell silent to type.

Someday, when Ezio was gone, maybe Morgyn would do this all over again, and go through Foxbury, instead. And maybe the blond would go back to magic realm and never come back out again. Nah. There were other things out here to keep going for. Speaking of which, Morgyn should head across the hallway and say hello to the Vatores. The blond never did drop in on them, and they probably knew Morgyn was around by now. They both said Morgyn had a strong scent. Morgyn thought it was more likely that they simply caught onto it quicker because they were more firmly attuned to it.

"How many classes would you like per term?" the woman asked.

Morgyn squinted slightly. "Four," the blond replied.

"Alright, I've got your class schedule, let me just print that off, and you'll begin term on Monday." The woman stood up, as another machine started making noise, and then handed Morgyn a slip of paper. "Could you stand just a little to the right and look straight ahead?"

Morgyn glanced down at the floor, moving over one step to the right, and then looking up. A flash of light went off, and then the woman wandered off, as Morgyn blinked rapidly in attempt to restore ability to see clearly.

The woman came back a moment later, handing Morgyn a lanyard and a card. "This is your student identification card," she explained. "Keep it on you somewhere while you're on campus grounds. And, welcome to UBrite."

"Thank you," Morgyn answered, taking the card, lanyard, and the class schedule. The blond looked it over, heading outside, presumably to go home, or perhaps Morgyn would give Ezio a bit of a break from having to put up with the blond, and find something else to do.

* * *

As was to be expected from a biology degree programme, Morgyn had a whole host of science courses this term. Morgyn hadn't been keeping up with the sciences very well. Between worrying too much about Ezio, and keeping up with being a sage, there were just some things that slipped through the cracks. Science, rather low on the totem pole of importance for the blond, was one of those things.

The blond shuffled off to one side of the grounds, settling down on a bench to look over the schedule. It turned out, as well, this certainly wasn't Morgyn's most flattering photo, but the blond figured no one's student ID was flattering. Morgyn released an amused huff at that thought, head falling back onto the bench, green eyes watching the clouds go by. It was a nice day, if you were into snow, at least. Ezio never minded it, but Morgyn was better suited to the interior of a volcano.

It was amazing, sometimes, how different and yet alike Morgyn and Ezio were. There were times when it was hard to tell them apart, because they seemed to be no different, and other times they were each other's polar opposite. Morgyn had stopped trying to make sense of it.

There was no rush to go home, Morgyn thought, so instead the blond intended to sit there on the bench until good and damn well ready to go home. There were too many things to think about, things Morgyn didn't entirely want to think about just yet. Life was easier when those things to think about waited just a little longer. Still, some of those things were necessary to ensure Ezio's life didn't have to change too much on account of Morgyn getting bored of magic realm. A long time ago, the blond had even said such a thing wouldn't ever happen. Promises, promises, mm?

Of course, no matter how things turned out, Ezio would never turn Morgyn away. In some sense, that was part of the problem. Ezio was _terrible_ at telling Morgyn to fuck off, _and_ terrible at being honest about it when he was struggling. He had too much pride for that, especially now. Morgyn didn't like to think about it, but the streets really had changed him. There was a side of Ezio that Morgyn didn't really know, now.

Morgyn slid down in the blond's seat. And then a familiar voice spoke up, as a shadow fell over Morgyn.

"Well, imagine running into _you_ here," Caleb said.

Morgyn immediately sat up, smiling just slightly at the vampire. With the light behind him, a slight halo around his form, he almost looked like an angel. Caleb would be one of the Watcher's greatest angels.

Too bad he was already _Morgyn's_ angel.

"Yeah," Morgyn answered. "Um. I came to enroll, actually. Got my class schedule and everything." The blond softly tapped the papers in one hand.

Caleb glanced down at it, and then shuffled around to sit next to the blond. "Welcome to UBrite, then," he said. "I'm in the culinary arts programme."

"Oh yeah?" Morgyn asked. "… yeah, that suits you." Caleb had a thing about cooking and feeding people. Someday, he could run a pretty successful restaurant, if that was something he wanted to do. Of course, he'd be _terrible_ at the business side of things, Morgyn thought. He didn't have enough push when it was necessary. Then again, he'd surprised the blond before, and he _was_ still related to Lilith. He had to have a backbone in there _somewhere_ , or he wouldn't have survived this long with her as a sister.

Lilith was wonderful. And also very stubborn, and very slightly prone to violence. It was a quirk.

"Glad you think so," Caleb said. "Lilith tells me I should've gone into music, but I'm not ready for that. Maybe in a few hundred years."

Morgyn snorted softly. "Whenever you think you can." Caleb played piano, and wrote music from time to time. Very rarely, the blond had managed to come across him working on a piece, but he never stayed working on it for very long. It was almost like Caleb was embarrassed by it. Ezio had things like that. Maybe it was a remnant of different ideas of what was manly.

Morgyn would never think different of him over something so shallow. And anyway, writing music was a good thing. The world could use a little less pain, and a little more love.

"Hey, when were you going to come by, anyway?" Caleb asked.

Morgyn shrugged. "Sometime this week," the blond answered. "It was on the list, I promise. I've just been catching up with Ezio, but we're reaching the time where he's wearing out on me."

"He's still doing okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn answered. "He's doing just fine. Better than he has been in years, I think."

"Lilith is in the same classes he is," Caleb said. "She'd tell me if he was struggling too much, and never mind I see him all the time, but, I worry anyway."

"It's sweet that you care," Morgyn said.

"Well, someone's gotta look out for you Embers," Caleb answered, features scrunching up in amusement. "You both are terrible at taking care of yourselves."

"You're right," Morgyn allowed. "But you're not supposed to _say_ it."

Caleb snorted in amusement. "Someone should," he answered. "Or you'll conveniently forget. Not sure what I'd do with you after that. I think I'd have a charred lump left over by the time you were done blowing yourself up and forgetting to eat."

"If it's any consolation, I've not forgotten to eat for a while now," Morgyn defended.

"Have you eaten anything besides macaroni and cheese in the last few months, though?" Caleb asked. " _That_ is the real question."

Morgyn didn't answer. Morgyn didn't have to.

Caleb released a sigh. "Of course," he said.

"You sound terribly put upon," Morgyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"Am I not?" Caleb asked, reaching up and poking Morgyn's nose. "I did kind of appoint myself your caretaker."

"I thought that was my brother," Morgyn answered, head tilting to one side, nose scrunching up as Caleb poked it.

"In some ways," Caleb replied. "Ezio's weakness is you, though. He doesn't push you enough when you need to be."

"Is that so?" Morgyn asked. "And you do?"

"Nah. I have other ways of getting you to do what I want you to." This long after, Caleb sure should _hope_ he knew how to work around Morgyn's temperament.

The blond looked intrigued. "And what are those?"

"I can't tell you that," Caleb said. "Then you'll know my secret weapons and they won't be secret _or_ weapons anymore."

Morgyn's arms crossed over each other. Apparently, that was the point.

"But hey," Caleb went on. "I'm trying to perfect a consomme recipe, and I figure I'd better ask someone French to try it."

Morgyn's eyes lit up. "You could ask Ezio, but I'm not complaining. Oooh, that sounds really good with the cold and - … oh."

Caleb laughed. "Well?"

Morgyn looked amused, and then released a puff of air. "Alright," the blond answered. "You sure have an interesting manner of manipulation, sir." The blond reached over and took Caleb's hands.

"Does it bother you?" Caleb asked, head tilting back slightly.

"Nah," Morgyn answered. "Feel free to con me into eating right any time you want."

* * *

"Make yourself at home," Caleb said, holding the door long enough for Morgyn to shuffle in. The apartment was very small, much smaller than their manor in Forgotten Hollow, at least, from what Morgyn _remembered_ of the place. The blond had only been there once or twice. Ezio had gone more frequently, because he spent a lot of time around Lilith. That was probably some kind of sad, but, Morgyn wasn't too concerned about it.

Instead, the blond shuffled across the kitchen into the living room, to have a seat on the couch.

"Do you want anything?" Caleb asked, heading into the kitchen.

"Just some water, would be fine enough for now," Morgyn answered.

"Water coming right up," Caleb answered, shuffling around to get a glass and handing it to Morgyn. "So, how long are you staying for?"

"A week or two," Morgyn replied. "I'm _trying_ to move here more permanently, but, Ezio's still kind of in financial dire straits. I don't want to cause him any trouble, even if accidentally."

Caleb nodded, shuffling around the kitchen. "You know, there's a place across the street over there by the water," he said. "It's called the Casa di Colori. You might like it. It's kind of somewhere between being a hostel and a halfway house. Runs mostly on donations and fundraising, so if you don't have the money for it, they won't ask any questions."

Morgyn leaned against the back of the couch, considering this information. "What's it for?" Morgyn asked.

"The owner is gay," Caleb answered. "Also likes to wear dresses a lot. I understand his family turned on him for it. So he sought to build a place where anyone could find a home, if they needed one."

Oh. Well, being as Morgyn was trans, liked to wear dresses, and was pretty bisexual, the blond supposed that sounded about perfect a place to go. Morgyn wondered if one could see this Casa di Colori from Ezio's room. It faced the street.

"I'll look into it, thank you," Morgyn said.

"I have friends that way," Caleb said. "They're really great people, I think you'll like them. They take care of each other, because no one else will. It kind of reminded me of you and Ezio."

Morgyn smiled a little. "That sounds really nice." Even if Morgyn didn't end up staying with these people very long, it was nice to think they'd feel a little like home. Morgyn shifted around on the couch, sitting to one side, back against the armrest, one leg loosely hanging off the edge of the cushion.

"Yeah," Caleb agreed. "If Ezio ever needs somewhere to go, the Casa would take him, too. In a heartbeat."

Morgyn's face scrunched up. "Yeah, maybe," Morgyn allowed, "but you know how Ezio is about accepting help." It'd gotten worse ever since Ezio spent those few years out on the street. Morgyn knew enough about the real world to know what that must have been like. Ezio still looked just like Morgyn, and Morgyn could hardly go certain places, without finding trouble. The blond had a hard time believing that Ezio had escaped the harassment.

They didn't really talk about Ezio's time on the streets. Morgyn almost wondered why, and then decided not to wonder too hard. Of course, by now, Ezio was a master of black tiger. Morgyn didn't think things would've gone _too_ wrong.

Well, the blond was still not thinking about it.

"That's true," Caleb said. He went quiet a moment, the sound of something boiling becoming louder. "It's an idea," Caleb added. "Maybe if you're already staying there, he'll take it a little better. I don't know what their finances look like, but they're late on rent a lot. Ezio is friends with the landlord, it's the only reason he got that place, and probably the only reason he's not gotten himself thrown out."

"Things are that bad?" Morgyn asked, looking concerned.

"I wouldn't call them terribly bad," Caleb replied. "They do make their rent, just a couple days late, is all."

That was still concerning enough. Morgyn didn't say anything, just frowned and pulled one leg a little closer to the blond's body.

Caleb released a sigh, bustling around getting the consomme ready to simmer. Consomme took normally several hours to prepare, but Caleb didn't mind entertaining Morgyn for that long. As soon as the vampire turned the heat down, he shuffled over to the couch to sit down, facing Morgyn. "Hey," he said softly. "Ezio's got people looking out for him, even if he's not always up for accepting help."

"You're not doing anything _stupid_ , like paying his rent, are you?" Morgyn asked, an eyebrow quirking upward.

"No," Caleb answered. "At least, not all of it. It _may_ get lowered from time to time out of the 'goodness of the landlord's heart,' however."

Morgyn made a face. "You know if he finds out about that, he's going to get pissed."

"I know," Caleb said. "But at least this way, you don't have to worry about him so much. He's not alone out here, Morgyn, not anymore."

Morgyn sighed, reaching down and taking Caleb's hands again. The blond liked to say that _Ezio_ was the nonverbal communicator, and while it was true that Ezio did so to a greater extent than the blond, Morgyn did still fall back on nonverbal cues from time to time. In communication with Caleb, for instance, the blond relied much heavier on body language. And somehow, Caleb just always understood, even when Morgyn didn't understand what the blond was trying to say.

Green eyes flicked up, finding grey eyes watching intently. Caleb didn't look at anyone else like that, except Morgyn, even now, a few years of HRT and a surgery later. It was partly through Ezio's efforts that Morgyn had even managed to transition in the first place. It felt like Ezio was always saving Morgyn, just like always.

The blond still hadn't figured out how to save him. Drake was probably right, and Morgyn wouldn't, until Ezio willed it.

"How do you always know what to say?" Morgyn asked.

Caleb shrugged. "Years of paying attention, I guess."

Yeah, years of paying attention _to Morgyn_. The blond didn't point that out. "So, what else are you learning to make?"

"Lots of things," Caleb answered. Morgyn tended to change the subject, when said subject became too much for the blond.

"You know what France does best?" Morgyn asked.

"What's that?"

"Cheese and wine," Morgyn answered, smirking. "Alright, and a couple other things like potage and maybe quiches. Actually, Normandy has a respectable range of dishes using seafood and apples."

"Apples?" Caleb asked, looking confused.

"Sure," Morgyn answered. "There are bunches of apple trees in Normandy. I remember them flowering in the spring. It was very pretty."

"You do like apples, right?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn said, leaning over and resting against Caleb's shoulder. "I like apples."

* * *

As it turned out, Morgyn was much too tired to bother opening the door. Instead, the blond flicked a finger and _would_ have magically opened the door, if Ezio hadn't apparently coated the door in magical wards. Morgyn frowned slightly, but then the door opened anyway, and Ezio arched an eyebrow at the blond.

"What is that?" Ezio asked, and then breathed in. "Oooh… it smells good."

"It's consomme," Morgyn answered, shuffling in the apartment and setting the pot down on the counter. "Caleb made it just today. Mm, the flavour is good. Almost perfect, he's very close."

Ezio smiled, pulling the lid off the pot and breathing in. It really did smell good. That in mind, Ezio shuffled around to get a spoon and try it. "Did you show him how?" he asked.

"Nope," Morgyn answered, sitting down at the dining room table. "He's learning how to in class. Said he wanted a French person to try it, which was actually code for, I'm sick of you eating macaroni and cheese."

Ezio snorted, settling down on the other side of the table with a bowl. "That sounds about right," Ezio said. "I can't say I'm fond of your attachment to cheesy pasta, either."

"Oh come on," Morgyn protested. "It's _cheesy pasta_! How can you hate it?"

"It's _loaded_ with carbs, Morgyn," Ezio answered. And then he leaned over to the side, glancing at Morgyn around the table. "Though of course, calories and carbs seem to go straight to your ass."

Morgyn blinked, glancing to one side. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ezio's ass was just as big. Actually, maybe it was bigger, because Ezio had a lot more… _body_ going on than Morgyn did, just in general.

"It means lay off the pasta," Ezio said. "There are a lot of other things you need in your diet, you can't live on just pasta. Well, you could, theoretically, but you'd either be very miserable, end up in the hospital for malnutrition, or both." Ezio's money was on both.

Morgyn snorted. "Actually I live on needs potions," the blond said.

And Ezio _stared_ , could only stare, as he tried to process that statement, and then one hand reached up and he smacked himself in the face.

"What?" Morgyn asked.

"That's even _worse_!" Ezio replied. "You're not seriously living on those are you?"

Morgyn glanced at the wall. "If I said I was, would you be mad?"

Ezio loosed a groan. "You know, it's no wonder Caleb made a habit of sending you back over here with food. You probably smell like tragedy and the tears of small children."

Morgyn blinked. "What do the tears of small children smell like?"

"Salt and despair, idiot," Ezio answered. Of course, Ezio wasn't sure how to describe the scent of despair, but he liked to think his weak little human senses had picked it up once or twice. Who knew what it smelled like to someone with stronger senses than he had. "So, how was the visit?"

"I hate how perfect he is," Morgyn answered, head falling onto the dining room table.

Ezio raised an eyebrow, reaching around to keep Morgyn's hair from falling into his consomme. This was actually quite good. "What now, then? You should ask him out or something." Probably.

Morgyn released a sigh. The problem was that Morgyn wasn't so sure what exactly the blond wanted them to _be_. They were already too intimate to be friends, exactly, and yet they weren't enough to be lovers. It was a strange sort of balance that Morgyn had never mastered where the line of was. Maybe that was the sign that it was time to be rid of that line, but then there was always the chance that they'd just end up with a mess on their hands by the end of it.

"I don't know what I _want_ from him," Morgyn said, half grumbled into the table.

Ezio made a noise, sipping at the consomme. "Well, you can't keep _this_ up," Ezio said. "You're somewhere between lovers and not, and I think it's driving him nuts. Either be friends, or be lovers. Don't be friends one moment and lovers the next."

Morgyn grumbled again, head shifting to look up at Ezio. "Why are you right?" the blond asked.

"We're always right about these things," Ezio said, reaching over and patting Morgyn's head. "Just, only about each other's love lives, not our own."

Morgyn went quiet, staring at the kitchen counters. After a moment, Mayor jumped up onto one, and then onto the fridge, where he happily made a perch and curled up to sleep. The cat probably had the right idea. But of course, Morgyn had been sleeping on it off and on since the 80s, and still did not have a real answer. Morgyn had no idea if there _was_ an answer to have, at this point.

Well, somewhere in there.

"I think I'm afraid of letting him any closer," Morgyn said softly.

Ezio didn't respond right away, thinking. Then, he reached across the table and pet Morgyn's hair. "You'll never know what it's like to fly, if you never leave the ground."

Green eyes moved to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sometimes you've gotta take a few risks, Morgyn," Ezio said.

"If we cross the line, we'll never look at each other the same way again," Morgyn said.

"You can't honestly tell me you've been looking at each other strictly platonically this entire time," Ezio answered. "I don't think anything will change at all. The line's been crossed, the idea of staying merely friends for the rest of your lives is a mere illusion by now, anyone can see that if they look at him, you both." Ezio paused a moment. "I think Caleb's waiting for you to make the first move."

Morgyn's head raised off the table. "What makes you think that?"

Ezio snorted. "You're flighty, for one thing," he answered. "In the strangest of ways. Things can and do scare you off sometimes. You don't withdraw entirely, no. It's not one of those situations where you take off running in the opposite direction, but you do pull away, back into yourself. I figure because you need to think about things without the external input confusing you, but for someone like Caleb, it hurts the same either way."

"I don't do that because -"

"I know," Ezio interrupted. "I'm sure even Caleb knows. But it doesn't take the sting away. You're weirdly delicate in ways he can't always predict. I know, because I can't always either. Faced with something like that, it makes sense that he'd want to leave the control in your hands." Unfortunately, he also wordlessly placed all the expectation on Morgyn's shoulders, left carrying this entire relationship to Morgyn. Ezio wasn't going to say anything. Morgyn had proven many times over why it was a bad idea for them to meddle in each other's love lives. Ezio wasn't going to do it.

"I guess I have to think about that," Morgyn answered. It was easy enough to say that they had fallen in love with each other over the decades, and maybe they had. The problem was, Morgyn didn't know how to _be_ in love. That was Ezio's thing. Morgyn had ambitions and goals that went far beyond being in love, and had pursued those ambitions and goals at the cost of a love life to speak of. (Funny, though, if you asked anyone at magic realm, Morgyn had _quite_ the love life; but it was always one-sided and based solely on the blond's physical appearance, and that kind of thing was shallow at best, and Morgyn wanted _more_ than just that.)

"Think about it, then," Ezio said. "There's no hurry. You and Caleb will be around for a long time yet." There was time to consider it. It was better than making the wrong choice.

* * *

Morgyn was right. There, across the street, Morgyn could see a building by the water, an external stucco design, rainbows around the columns, and vines crawling up the walls. The architecture looked distinctly Italian, but with a name like the _Casa di Colori_ , it was no wonder. The sun was barely up, but, Morgyn fell out of bed, and then shuffled around getting dressed. Today was going to be another day Morgyn wasn't here to pester Ezio.

Ezio wasn't complaining, of course. It was difficult to keep up with a whirlwind like Morgyn when the blond got excited. At some point, Morgyn intended to stop by Saint Mary's and see how things were going. Morgyn didn't have time to attend services anymore, not with any notable frequency, but the blond remained friends with the pastor. He'd aged over time, of course. It'd been thirty some years. Morgyn hadn't changed much at all, outside of suddenly being more masculine, and every time Morgyn stopped by, the blond could see the questions in his eyes. He'd wisely, thus far, kept them to himself.

As soon as Morgyn was dressed, the blond scurried out into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast off Ezio's plate and hurrying out the door. "Be back later, bye!" the blond called along the way to the elevator. Morgyn went down to the ground floor, stepped out into the light, brighter than normal from the light reflecting off the snow. Morgyn's green eyes blinked several times in rapid succession, and then Morgyn stepped across the street, towards the rainbow columns.

As soon as Morgyn got there, the blond caught onto a strange sense of hope. The place wasn't loud; though Morgyn could see several people on the ground floor beyond the entryway, they were mostly calm and quiet. A few spoke to one another in hushed tones. Morgyn stopped by the entry, reading the signs there.

After a moment, something on the desk moved. Morgyn jumped back in surprise, only to find a calico cat uncurling on the reception desk. "Well hello there," the blond greeted, holding a hand out for the cat.

The cat lazily turned to face the hand, sniffed it, and then laid back down, and curled back up. Morgyn looked amused, and just so, could hear the cat begin to purr.

"Don't mind her too much," a voice said. Morgyn looked up towards where it was coming from, finding a dusky-skinned male with beautiful green eyes, a subtle ring of amber around the pupil, and short, thick and wavy black hair. There were fair-sized gold hoops in either of his ears. Morgyn glanced downward. He was wearing a black shirt with embroidered roses and a black skirt. Actually, he looked really good in it, too.

"What's her name?" Morgyn asked.

"Penny," the man answered. "She's the _Casa_ 's mascot, you could say. Mostly, she lounges around and just _looks_ like she's doing something. I'm Brandon, the _Casa_ 's owner, what's your name, sweetie?"

Morgyn breathed out loudly. "Morgyn," the blond answered.

"You a she or a he, darlin'?" Brandon asked.

"Yes," Morgyn answered. "Wait, no."

"Aoooh…" Brandon said softly. "You're an _experience_ , gotcha."

Morgyn laughed. "Yeah, definitely an experience. Not always a good one."

"The best ones aren't," Brandon answered, smiling. "Welcome to the House of Colours. You staying for a while, dear?"

Morgyn made a face. "Well, I'm hoping to," the blond answered. "I'm staying with my brother for right now but he's… things are difficult for him so I'd like to find somewhere of my own to go. I have money, at least."

Brandon rested a hand against a hip. "Well love, we run on a needs-based system. If you think you can pay the normal fee, it's 600 Simoleons a night, 4,200 a week. If you don't think you can, then we can lower the amount, or you can even stay for free, if need be, while you get on your feet. What do you think, love?"

Ooh, that was a lot. "I could do the 600 a night for a while," Morgyn answered. "But then I'd run out."

"How about we do 200 a night?" Brandon suggested. "That should be a lot more manageable over a long haul, and maybe you'll end up more stable before the end of it."

"That's so little," Morgyn said.

"Of course it is darlin'," Brandon answered. "Don't worry about it any, some people stay here for free, others stay forever, and some people stay forever, for free. That's what taking care of each other means, isn't it?"

Well, that was what it meant when it was Morgyn and Ezio. Maybe Brandon was right, and Morgyn was being silly.

"Are you looking for a job right now?" Brandon asked.

"No," Morgyn answered. "Well, sort of. I'm in university right now."

"Oooh, good luck," Brandon said. "You'll be making a decent amount of money after that, no doubt. If you want to donate to the Casa after you've gone, we do take donations, love."

Morgyn's head tilted. "Is that how you run?" Morgyn asked.

"A little of that, a little of fundraising. The community takes care of this place, and we help take care of the community. It's all a give and take. Compassion for some compassion. That seems fair enough, doesn't it?"

Morgyn smiled. "Yeah, it does," the blond answered.

"You seem a little bit special, love," Brandon said, his tone lowering. "You know, like full moons and tarot cards kind of special."

Morgyn blinked. The blond must've looked a bit alarmed, because Brandon laughed, and waved a hand.

"It's alright, it's alright," he said. "I was raised by a vampire. I learnt to sense these things. I can put you in the occult side of the _Casa_ , if you'd rather?"

Well, sometimes Morgyn woke up screaming and throwing _Inferniate_ everywhere. Maybe that was a good idea. Hmm. Morgyn wasn't sure how the blond felt about Brandon figuring that out so quickly. And anyway, Morgyn still needed to tell Ezio what was going on, and where Morgyn was going. Maybe Caleb too.

"Can I think about it, for a bit?" Morgyn asked. "I'm still staying with my brother and I want to make sure everything's going to pan out how I think it will."

"That's just fine, love," Brandon answered. "You're always welcome in the _Casa_ , alright darlin? You just come ask for me when you're ready."

"Thank you," Morgyn answered, turning towards the door. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too!"

As Morgyn scurried back over to Culpepper, Morgyn knew that the blond's mind had already been made up. Ezio came first, and that was all.


	5. Good Things Are Made Up of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the ending image was like a once in a lifetime snap, it was part of the standard animations in CAS, and I got this split second of it and I don't think I will ever be able to find it again. I did at one point accidentally get a good screencap of the spellcaster animation and I recorded the animation to find where exactly it was, like three times, so Idk maybe I will lmao. Anyway, so that was probably taken last year sometime, when I first goth'd up the idiot, I mean Ezio. I actually got that fur coat for Morgyn but it belongs to Ezio now because he looks really good in it, I won't put it on anyone else.
> 
> Anyway. This chapter's a lot more Lilith-thinking than I expected and idk why because that's what Lilith does, she thinks a lot. Her form of outgoing is a lot less in your face than Morgyn's is, so she's probably surprisingly reclusive, and I'm sorry, this is just how she came out for me, idk. She kind of explains what the precise fuck that is wrong with her is in this in narration but only kind of.
> 
> Side character snek in here and I kinda was like "What?" but then was like "Oh that makes sense."
> 
> By the way, my chapters will have like one specific character they're narrated by, with occasional interjections by another character, so this one was mostly Lilith's pov with a moment of Caleb at the end, because there's a lot of moving pieces in this and I need to tell the story from multiple angles to be able to get it all. Uhhhh I also hope to get ahead here in a second and write a few more chapters after this and have them sitting around waiting to be released.
> 
> And as you probably have noticed... I split the fic, so all the parts will be their own fic so that way we don't end up with a 140 chapter, 750k word monstrosity by the end, because I think it actually will be that long. I... think I'm sorry?
> 
> Now Is Forever, Eiffel 65  
> My sister, when she married her current husband (the first time), did the bride and groom dance to this song. I love a lot of different kinds of music for a lot of different reasons, like I even listen to some country, so, fair warning, if you wanted to expand your musical horizons.... this fic may do it for you. xD

"Somehow, I was expecting this to be easier," Caleb was saying, pacing around the apartment he shared with Lilith. Across the hall, somewhere, Morgyn was spending time with Ezio, and Caleb wouldn't ever _dream_ of interrupting something like that. Right now, at any rate, he needed to vent to someone else, and perhaps venting at Morgyn _about_ Morgyn wasn't a good idea. "We've known each other _forever_ , Lilith, I can't believe this is still so difficult. And I don't even know what I _want_!"

Lilith, pulling their dishes out of their boxes, washing and drying them, and then putting them in the cabinets, released a sigh. Her hair was much shorter, now, and had been for some time. It was less annoying to deal with, so she'd been keeping it cut. It kept it out of her eyes.

"You know," Lilith said, sliding a plate into the cabinet, "I don't think I can give you an answer here."

Caleb unleashed a squawk of indignant frustration. "I know!" he said, falling over onto the couch. "I know. I'm just trying to figure this out, mostly, and nothing makes sense in my head."

"Well, it certainly doesn't help that you spent a long time trying to ignore your own feelings," Lilith said, one eyebrow arching upward. She wasn't entirely certain _why_ he did that, but she did know Morgyn - well, both of the Embers - could be awfully jumpy and touchy sometimes. It was difficult to say, how Morgyn would react or not react to something. Lilith certainly didn't know the blond that well. Maybe only Ezio had the answers to that, but even he seemed undeniably perplexed at times. "You could talk to Ezio, I guess," Lilith said. "Or you could do the easy thing."

Caleb's hand rose up to rest on the back of the couch, and he sat up slightly. "And what's the _easy_ thing?" he asked.

Lilith snorted, putting another plate in the cabinet. "Ask Morgyn out," she said.

"What like on a _date_?" Caleb asked, sounding scandalised.

"Yes," Lilith answered. "What else would I mean? You've been good friends for a long time now, Morgyn _obviously_ doesn't _dislike_ you, maybe it's time one of you made the first move, and something tells me it won't be Morgyn doing it."

Caleb groaned and fell back down on the couch. "I'm not an _outgoing_ person, okay, I don't really _do_ assertion! That's Morgyn's thing! And - and maybe Morgyn doesn't like me that way. Maybe. Probably even. I'm not terribly great."

Lilith rolled her eyes, throwing the hand towel onto the counter. One hand rested against the counter, the other propping up against her hip.

"That's the, 'Shut up before I smack you, Caleb,' look," Caleb said.

"I won't _smack_ you," Lilith answered. " _You_ anyway. I make no promises as to the relative safety of the punching bags at the gym. Look, Caleb, I think Morgyn likes you. I really do. I just also think that Morgyn has other things on the brain than you. Maybe dating's just not a priority for Morgyn. There are probably a dozen other things Morgyn's got to think about, between being untamed sage, to making sure Ezio doesn't keel over and die, and -"

"I'm being weirdly selfish, aren't i?" Caleb asked, peeking over the back of the couch again.

"I wouldn't really put it that way," Lilith answered, "but, yes, that is the technical explanation of this behaviour. But it's easy to get caught up in your personal problems and forget that other people have problems, too, or at least, other things on their mind. It doesn't really make you a bad person or anything. I think everyone does it from time to time. The problem is when your personal goals and wants continually supersede others', and you _never_ consider other people when making decisions or working things out that affect them."

Caleb released a sigh, propping his head up against his arm. "This is why I ask you about stuff all the time," he said. "You always have answers."

"Not always," Lilith corrected, reaching over to take the hand towel back off the counter and return to working on cleaning the dishes and putting them in the cabinets. Their manor in Forgotten Hollow had a rather old-fashioned and neglected kitchen. It was no one's fault, it simply _was_ , they didn't have mortal humans over very much, and neither of them had any need to pretend to be normal. After a while, Caleb got interested in Morgyn, and Morgyn was notoriously bad at self-care, so Caleb started to learn how to cook. It was mostly because Morgyn in a kitchen tended to end up a nice sizzly event, one that Caleb had gotten quite fond of skipping. Lilith couldn't say she was complaining, either. Caleb had set their kitchen on fire a few times, merely because there were spider webs all over it. Apparently, it hadn't occurred to him to do something with those first. Lilith couldn't call herself surprised.

"Often enough for me to keep asking, I guess," Caleb answered. "At least you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better about it."

"You seemed pretty scandalised a minute ago," Lilith pointed out, washing the plate in her hands.

"And in hindsight, now I'm not," Caleb answered. "It just took me a minute to get used to the idea." The two went quiet, for a moment, and then Caleb asked, "You think Morgyn will say yes?"

Lilith snorted. "I think Morgyn might wonder what _took_ you so long to ask, but, yes, I think Morgyn will say yes. Just do the dating thing _right_ , understand? I don't want to have to kick you because you upset one of my friends. Be the one Morgyn can't forget about."

Caleb looked a bit uncertain. "I don't know how," he admitted.

"Just be you," Lilith answered, smiling softly, as she dried off the plate she held. "You've always been good enough for Morgyn before just as you are, I have no reason to think that's changed. Don't rush things. Let it happen as it wants to. And remember that people aren't just end-goals."

* * *

It was rare that Lilith got to stretch her legs. Most of the time, she spent all her time holed up somewhere. Before, she spent all her time in Wolfsbane unless she had somewhere to go, namely Britechester for class. Now, she spent all her time in the apartment she shared with Caleb, and some might find this a terrible outcome, but Lilith didn't mind. She was outgoing, and had a need for social interaction, but she talked with Caleb, Ezio and Drake. Lilith wasn't very fond of the Rasoyas, but they weren't _annoying_ to talk to, at least.

Ever since they were kids, Lilith had slowly been trying to become someone she wasn't, because Caleb didn't need the person she was. It wasn't his fault. She tried to tell herself that, more than once, over the years, tried to convince herself that it didn't bother her that it was always _her_ being someone she wasn't so that Caleb could keep living the way he did. And then the voice in the back of her mind whispered that even when she'd needed him, it wasn't like he did anything, back then. Maybe he didn't contribute, but neither did he try to stop it. Lilith remembered, then, when she heard that voice in the back of her head, so angry at him for things that happened when the world was younger, that none of it was his fault, and she tried to let it go.

Given the voice kept coming back, clearly, she wasn't doing a good job of letting anything go.

She stood outside the apartment building, her eyes on the bridge, watching the lights race down the supports. So many things about the world had changed, and so many other things hadn't changed at all. The every day challenge of keeping up with those changes, Lilith was better at them than Caleb was. Then, he didn't necessarily _try_ , either. He spent a lot of time hibernating off and on, trying to pretend that nothing had to change because Caleb didn't take change very well. And then he had a reason to stay in Morgyn, and it was never a fight to keep him out and present again.

That, too, sometimes she was angry at him for. Lilith only ever fought for him, but when it came down to it, Caleb barely had it in him to stay _awake_ for her. No, that wasn't fair, either, was it? Maybe it didn't matter. Very little in the world was, after all.

Lilith took a breath in, enjoying the cool, crisp winter air, and then turned and walked down the street. The place she was going was only a few blocks down the street from Culpepper, and was the closest bar, _and_ the closest vampire bar in the area, too. Unlike Caleb, Lilith took being a vampire much better. If she had to guess, it helped that she'd chosen it. For a weak reason, but she'd still chosen it. Caleb had just made friends with the wrong crowd, if one could call that mess being _friends_.

As she wandered into the _Desert Rose_ , the soft music gently thumping in the background, the first thing she noted was the wide array of languages being spoken in hushed tones. Lilith didn't understand them all, but she caught snatches and pieces, words that she recognised, but then she lost the rest of the sentence. The blond settled down at the bar. "Plasma Jane, please," she said.

"Sure," the bartender answered, setting to making her drink. "You haven't been by in a while. Doing alright then?"

"Yeah," Lilith answered, her head tilting slightly as she sat up a bit straighter. "I'm in university now," she said.

The bartender laughed, a smooth and higher pitched tone than it seemed like should come out of him. But then, he was a bit effeminate looking anyway. He sat the Plasma Jane down in front of Lilith. "I'm not sure how you younger ones handle university," he said, icy blue eyes sparkling with mirth. "I don't have the patience anymore."

Lilith snorted. "I figure I've got forever," she said, taking the glass. "No sense in being impatient. Eternity isn't going to move any faster on account of me and my stupid temper."

The man laughed again, flicking his head to one side to move pale blond hair out of his eyes. "I can't argue with that," he said.

Lilith knew his name was Kassander, but that was about it. He reeked of old. Lilith imagined he was one of the ancients, and for some reason, his presence was calming, the way she just barely remembered her parents' presences were. She'd asked him why that was, once. He'd smiled, and told her not to worry about it, and it was just a deliberate calming effect he exuded on purpose. She had no proof of it, but she was quite sure he was lying.

Just under his skin, she'd learnt a long time ago, was the buzz of magic. Whatever and whoever he was, he was powerful, and apparently, always had been.

"I hear Miss Hell's around," Kassander said, leaning over to rest his arms against the bar.

"Is she?" Lilith asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I figured you'd be interested in hearing about that," Kassander said. "You may not ever catch her."

"The point by now isn't catching her anymore," Lilith said, drinking some of the Plasma Jane and setting it down on the bar with a soft tap. "If I always have something to chase, I won't stop moving."

Kassander smiled, that smile that he got when he thought something was right. "Sarnai's awake, as well," he said. "I don't think the two are related, but I'm not stupid enough to think they're not."

Lilith frowned, but she merely nodded once, took another drink of the Plasma Jane, and set it back down. "How's life besides?"

"Interesting enough," Kassander answered. "Sandalio's still always busy, and so is Hasan. I'm on my own a lot more now, more than I like anyway. It's no one's fault, it just is."

"Maybe you three should spend some time together just you," Lilith suggested.

"Yeah, probably," Kassander agreed. "Getting Sandalio and Hasan to take time off work, though…" Kassander loosed a low whistle. "I love them, but they're both terrible about breaks."

Lilith laughed. "You're just as bad," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kassander asked.

"You're _supposed_ to be off work this late," Lilith said. "And here you are, tending _someone else's_ bar."

Kassander looked like he wanted to argue, and then closed his mouth. "Point well made. I think I'll go dance or something."

Lilith snorted, as Kassander wandered off into the back. "See ya," she said as he went along. Then, her thoughts inevitably turned back to what he'd said. Miss Hell was around now, and Lilith had only been waiting for her to show her ugly mug around here again. But Sarnai was awake, too.

Now what exactly would _Sarnai_ be awake for?

* * *

Campus hadn't changed much. It was probably one of the most consistent constants in Lilith's life (aside from Caleb always being in some sort of state of conflict over Morgyn, at least), and she could appreciate it. Things seemed somehow much simpler when she was on campus. That was probably how she managed to find the patience for university shenanigans. When you were twenty something, and had your whole life ahead of you, you did silly things and thought about things in a bit more naive way.

Lilith missed that kind of naivety. Yet, she also didn't miss it at all. Such a conflicting feeling that was, but that was to be expected. Lilith's early years weren't exactly the greatest.

As Lilith made her way across campus, probably to hang around in the centre courtyard until it was time for her next class, she sensed Ezio nearby. She hadn't spoken to him in a while, and if she was guessing right, he was _probably_ presently being near driven nuts by Morgyn and Morgyn's unending energy stores. Lilith wasn't sure how the blond hit the ground running that way, but it seemed like it came as the dolt's second nature. Morgyn hit the ground running, and tended to keep running, and that seemed like a bad thing but somehow Morgyn managed it fine.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Morgyn _seemed_ to manage fine. Maybe the truth was that Morgyn lived on potions or something. That sounded like something Morgyn would do. Maybe Ezio knew about it. Ezio seemed to know _everything_ about Morgyn. Probably, he knew Morgyn better than he knew himself.

Lilith closed the book she'd been vaguely leafing through, and redirected herself to end up near Ezio, instead. He was already seated on a bench, watching the clouds. He seemed in a decent mood, and a quick sniff at the air told her he was doing alright, physically, too. He also didn't smell emotionally distressed, so Morgyn hadn't utterly exasperated him yet. That was a good sign.

Lilith settled down next to him, her eyes turning up to the sky to watch the clouds. Ezio shifted to look at her, and then returned to watching the sky.

"How's life with Morgyn around?" Lilith asked.

Ezio snorted softly. "Never very boring, at least. The only bright side, I suppose, is I'm not as easily tired out as I was a few decades ago. Takes a bit longer to knock me out of the running, but I still can't quite keep up with Morgyn."

Yes, Lilith remembered. His stamina had been a much different situation a few decades ago, before he'd come here for medical care, and discovered martial arts. From time to time, he danced now, too, but not often, and not for long. Ezio only pushed it that much because he loved to dance. Lilith had figured that out a long time ago.

"If it makes you feel any better," Lilith said, "I don't think even _Caleb_ can really keep up with Morgyn." For the most part, it seemed like Caleb was merely very good at pretending he could keep up.

Ezio laughed. "That sounds about right," he said. "Morgyn runs at a tempo most can't reach."

For some reason, yes. Lilith couldn't say she understood, but it seemed like Morgyn slowed down from time to time. It could be a very lonely existence, no one ever being able to keep up with you, but Morgyn's decisions to slow down for certain people made it less so. Or at least, Lilith imagined it did. She wouldn't pretend to understand Morgyn. She barely understood _herself_ much of the time.

For instance, why was she still angry with Caleb for things outside of his control? She had no answer.

"Hey," Ezio said, turning to look at her, "Mayor Whiskers doesn't bother you guys, right?"

Lilith looked confused. "No?" she asked. "Is he supposed to be bothering us?"

Ezio shrugged, and turned back to look at the sky. "The Rasoyas keep making a big fuss over him, that's all," he answered. "I know he likes to yowl at just about anything, but he doesn't really do it _loudly_ , I didn't think."

"Not really," Lilith agreed. "You know the Rasoyas are ridiculously picky about noise levels, especially given _they're_ the loudest ones on our floor. I wouldn't pay it any mind."

Ezio sighed, sliding down in his seat on the bench. Lilith smiled a little, reaching over and patting his arm.

"I don't handle confrontation very well," Ezio said.

"That's funny," Lilith answered. "You seem to manage fighting just fine. That counts as confrontation."

"That's a little bit different," Ezio said.

Lilith shrugged. "I don't think it is," she said. "Just give her a look like she's lost her shit. She probably did a long time ago, and maybe the looks will make her start thinking about her senseless diatribe before she spits it out."

"Somehow," Ezio said, "I really doubt that one. She doesn't seem like the type to be easily affected by things like that."

"Psh, you're older than her anyway," Lilith said. "And truthfully, she's probably on her way out. Her blood's still tasty, though."

Ezio gave her a _look_. "You don't, do you?" he asked.

"Maybe," Lilith answered. "I _might_ be why she's always cranky."

"Lilith, honestly," Ezio replied, looking a bit admonishing.

Lilith snorted. "It keeps her out of the way for an hour or so while she sleeps the blood loss off."

Ezio sighed. "That fails to be the point," he said, standing. "At any rate, I'd better go. I still have a little more of my presentation to work on, and Morgyn's probably going to want to go out again later today."

"You could always get Caleb to entertain Morgyn for a night or two," Lilith said, sitting up.

"Psh, are you kidding?" Ezio asked. "If I even suggested it, I think Caleb would have a heart attack over it."

Lilith raised her eyebrows, her head tilting to the side. Well, he was probably right about that one. "I suppose," she said.

"Anyway, I'll see you later," he said. "And good luck listening to Caleb whinge."

Lilith loosed a sigh, watching Ezio go. Great. And now the neighbours knew Caleb was whinging. Or maybe it was just Ezio.

* * *

Kassander hadn't given her as much information about Sarnai and Miss Hell's movements as she had been hoping. He seemed to be of the belief she should let this one go, focus more on her own life, and truthfully, he was right. Lilith had a lot going on, between adjusting to living in San Myshuno, helping Caleb with whatever it was that Caleb needed help with, and figuring out what _she_ wanted. Maybe the truth was, Lilith was so used to having to put her life on hold for Caleb, that she'd forgotten how to want things. It was just as well. Caleb always needed _something_.

And with Miss Hell slinking around again, Lilith knew better than to leave her alone and expect everything to be fine. There were times Caleb went outside her influence, and if Miss Hell happened to get to him during those times, there was almost nothing Lilith could do to save him from his own naivety and tendency to believe the best in people. There was a reason Lilith was the hard-ass of the two of them. He'd fallen for Miss Hell's charming lies before, and he'd do it again.

Unfortunately, for some god awful fucking reason, Caleb _still_ liked her, and the problem was, Miss Hell knew that. Lilith really wanted to wipe that smug little smirk right off her face, but Caleb still wanted to believe the best in her. It was another reason Lilith hoped Caleb asked Morgyn out, and they started being more than just friends. Because Caleb didn't have enough _fight_ in him unless he had something to fight _for_. Lilith didn't need it, could handle herself, but Morgyn didn't know Miss Hell the same way. She could be a real threat to the sage. Caleb would know that.

That was probably a bad reason to hope Caleb got the nerve to ask Morgyn out, but for now, it was something. Lilith would accept it, even if only in her head. Caleb didn't need to know the specifics, she supposed.

As it was, with Miss Hell on the move in San My, it'd take a little time for Lilith to figure out where the hell she was hiding this time. Miss Hell's tastes in living space were beyond Lilith's comprehension. She was hoping to be able to find her more or less on accident, if that was possible, and she supposed it was. If Miss Hell made the right moves and said the right things to the right people, of course. It was hard for _her_ to imagine that Miss Hell and Sarnai being around at the same time wasn't coincidental, even if Kassander made it sound like the two events were somehow related. Miss Hell _hated_ Sarnai, because Vladislaus seemed to like Sarnai and tended to pass Miss Hell up for things he'd turn around and give to Sarnai.

If she'd use her _brain_ , Miss Hell would know that was because Sarnai was a thousand times stronger than her, but what the fuck did Lilith know?

On the other hand, Sarnai _was_ a thousand times stronger than Miss Hell, and it wouldn't be terribly difficult to manipulate Miss Hell into doing things one wanted her to if they knew how. Lilith had no reason to believe that Sarnai _didn't_. What exactly that would _get_ her, _that_ Lilith didn't know, but it could easily be something so simple as keeping Miss Hell out of her way until the main event. That certainly sounded quite plausible.

Lilith took a breath in, tucked out of the way behind some brush and trees in Forgotten Hollow. Somewhere out here was probably the answers she needed. If nothing else, maybe Vladislaus had seen or heard something. His presence was still notable, though it seemed weaker to her. She decided not to think about it too much, instead focusing on trying to figure out what she'd came for.

It was Vladislaus' idea that she and Caleb move to San Myshuno. Now she had to wonder if he _knew_ something was going on, and had sent them away to spare them the brunt of whatever it was. Caleb wasn't the fighter she was. Depending on how things turned out, he may or may not actually make it through whatever it was, though Lilith likely would. She so far always had, after all.

Lilith took a step outside of the brush. The sun had begun to set, and the light was fading, had been ever since the sun had vanished behind the mountains. Forgotten Hollow was one of the best places for vampires to live. Between the frequent cloud cover, and how little time the sun had in the sky as opposed to being covered by the high mountain peaks around the Hollow, it was easy enough to stay out of the sun's reach. Idly, she held one of her hands up, the other hand gripping her wrist and moving it slightly. The joint cracked a few times, loosening it. She flicked her other hand at the air, popping that wrist joint as well. It was hard to say what she'd run into, and she didn't need her muscles tight or her joints cramping on her.

Across the street from Wolfsbane Manor, where she and Caleb used to live, there was another manor. Lilith didn't know when that was built, but she thought she sensed Elle, Inna, and Vlad. The other Vlad, of course. The house beside it also seemed to be occupied, and Lilith wasn't sure who that was, aside from they seemed to have a cat, and smelled just slightly of - ah. _Magic_. Sarnai had a spellcaster sister. Perhaps the cat was her familiar.

As soon as Lilith started to make her way around the central courtyard, she noticed something else moving around in the brush across the street. Lilith stopped, ducking down into the brush she was standing in, and waited. Then, who should pop out from between the trees but Markus Crow? That was interesting enough, but he looked around like he was trying not to get caught, too, and then scurried up towards one of the abandoned mines. If she remembered right, the Embers had a serious issue with Kat Cave. Kat and Markus were close friends of Miss Hell's, and by friends, Lilith really meant _lackeys_. Maybe he was finishing whatever Kat had failed to do.

With that in mind, Lilith attempted to suppress her scent, and followed.

* * *

Lilith was probably right. Caleb should just ask Morgyn out or something, it wasn't like he'd ever been terribly _overt_ about his feelings. Of course, Caleb was also very aware he wasn't the only person in the world with a crush on Morgyn. _Maybe_ his ran a little deeper than most crushes, but then heck if he knew anything about how everyone _else_ felt. Was it egotistical to think that somehow your crush was better and more important? Maybe it was. It _probably_ was.

It wasn't like Morgyn hadn't seemed interested in him. Probably, Morgyn wouldn't spend so much time around him if the blond wasn't at least _kind of_ interested, in _something_. Caleb released another sigh, turning around, shuffling across the hallway, and stuffing some of the envelopes in his hand down the trash chute. He turned around, shuffled back to the mailbox. Off-hand, he didn't know where Lilith had gone. If he had to guess, she was probably at class. Caleb frowned, moving one arm to check the time. His watch read 4:40. She should've been back by now. Well, Lilith had friends. Caleb didn't have many of those.

As he shuffled through the envelopes, the elevator dinged behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, catching Ezio trudging out of the elevator. "Oh, hey, Ezio," Caleb said, stuffing the envelopes in his pocket, closing the mailbox, and turning around.

"Hey Caleb," Ezio greeted, a slight smile on his face. He looked so much like Morgyn, but he also didn't look anything _like_ Morgyn. It was hard to explain, something Caleb hadn't tried sorting out even in his own head for how ridiculous it was.

"Hey," Caleb answered. "Sorry to bother you, but do you got a minute?"

Ezio turned around to face him the rest of the way, and smiled wider, more knowingly. "Morgyn, yeah?"

"Is it that obvious?" Caleb asked.

"Either that or I just know that look really well by now," Ezio answered, lightly shrugging one shoulder.

Caleb sighed. "I just… don't really know what to do with all this," he said. "I don't even know if Morgyn _likes me_."

Ezio's face scrunched up. "Trust me," Ezio said, "if Morgyn _didn't_ like you, you'd know it."

Logically, Caleb knew that. Morgyn didn't tend to tolerate things and people that Morgyn didn't like in some capacity. But what if it wasn't a like _like that_? Then maybe Caleb was just wasting his time. And what was he _doing_ anyway, waiting for Morgyn to be ready? And how exactly did Caleb figure he'd _know_ when Morgyn was ready, if he didn't ask? Or read Morgyn's mind, and something told him that was a very bad idea.

Caleb just loosed a groan, hands raising to press his fingers against the sides of his head.

Ezio smiled, loosing a quiet breath. "You're doing a lot better than you think you are, promise."

"I'm just sick of feeling like Morgyn's ignoring my feelings," Caleb said. "By now, Morgyn _has_ to know. I'm _kind of really obvious_."

Ezio made a face, but he didn't say anything to that specifically. "Maybe you should tell Morgyn that, then," he said instead. "Morgyn's good, but, the dolt's not really a mind reader. It's not like Morgyn has any idea what you want until you say it, right? You can't read Morgyn's mind either. … well, you can, but I should hope you would know better than to do that."

Yeah, something told Caleb Morgyn wouldn't take that one terribly well. He supposed Ezio was right, in this case. Talking to everyone _but_ Morgyn wouldn't generally solve anything, probably, it just felt like it should somehow. Like maybe the problem was _him_ , and not their lacking communication. Or perhaps, Caleb didn't like anything that insinuated that the problem might lie with _Morgyn_ , in any capacity.

And what was he thinking, anyway, falling for Morgyn, knowing that there'd always be a life Morgyn had to live that Caleb had no part in? The question of whether Caleb could deal with that was still in the air. Asking Morgyn to stop being the sage of untamed magic was, to say the least of it, high on the list of selfish things Caleb had thought. Morgyn had a job to do, and so what if Caleb didn't have a part of that job? It was more likely borne of the feeling Morgyn was ignoring him, not the thing itself. It was hard to remember that, sometimes.

"I just -" He just _what_? That was the hard part, wasn't it, figuring out what Caleb was thinking when, truthfully, Caleb had been ignoring his feelings, too. "I think I don't want to push Morgyn into anything." Yes. That sounded right.

Ezio looked surprised, but then tilted his head to the side slightly. "You know," he said, "it sounds like you've decided Morgyn's more important than your feelings."

Come to think of it, maybe, yeah. Caleb could admit that.

"I think you first ought to figure out if your feelings are as strong as you think they are," Ezio said. "Because maybe you don't feel what you think you do as strongly as you believe. And there's nothing wrong with that. You two make really good friends, at the very least, and I don't think there'll ever come a time you don't have a place in Morgyn's life. It's just that, I think maybe what you think Morgyn's place in _your_ life is, might be a little different in reality."

"You think so?" Caleb asked. He didn't want to admit that maybe they weren't meant to be. He'd held on for so long, though, Caleb could admit that there was a high possibility that he simply didn't want to let go. Given how long he'd been focused on Morgyn, it was hard to say, I'm done, and walk away from that. And the _idea_ of walking away, it didn't sting as much as Caleb had expected it would.

Maybe Ezio was right. Maybe Caleb didn't feel how he thought he did. But that was for him to figure out. Unfortunately, Ezio couldn't tell him that.


	6. And I Can't Go Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kassander is my baby and he got this written in like two hours and I love him. When I wrote the first book of his personal story, he won me NaNoWriMo in five days and then we finished the month with over 100,000 words. It was all chapter 1. LOL  
> We get another chapter 6 quote in this one. Also, yeah, doing the thing where we focus on someone besides the Embers so we can tell the other sides of the story. lol  
> Pure Sunlight, Mr. FijiWiji, Laura Brehm, AgNO3

The space was silent, save for the quiet trickling of water to one side of the room. The blond tilted his head side to side, his neck cracking several times, and then stretched out. His eyes were closed, focused instead on listening to the water sounds, and whatever it was that was going on in his head. It'd been thousands of years since the last time someone had managed to guess what it was that was in his head, Kassander didn't expect anything else this time. Save, perhaps, Sandalio and Hasan, very few people knew him terribly well, now. Kassander preferred it that way.

He'd learnt a long time ago, of course, that there would always be someone out there too willing, perhaps, to villify someone else. Everyone was a villain in _someone's_ story. The question, Kassander supposed, was whether or not one was willing to embrace this reality. Trapped between potentially leading those that had followed him to their deaths, and becoming the bad guy, it was quite obvious which decision was the right one. There would always be those with criticisms. People that thought they had some kind of right to judge him for the life he'd been forced to lead. They didn't matter. What mattered was, they were all alive, they were all together, and everyone else could choke on it.

As always he did, Kassander stood up, as he sensed, rather than heard, Sandalio come home. Both Sandalio and Hasan worked far too much, if one was asking Kassander, but it was just as well. He didn't need as much attention as he used to, when he was younger and more impetuous. Ah, but, he was still a dragon… and dragons still did not do well in cages. Not that any had gotten brave enough to attempt to cage him, recently. Occasionally, the law thought itself capable, and rapidly discovered otherwise, but it hadn't in quite some time now.

Kassander had gotten older, and perhaps a bit wiser.

Unconsciously, the blond leaned into it slightly, when Sandalio came in and gently wrapped his arms around him. Kassander wasn't glass, at least, not anymore, and still Sandalio and Hasan both were notably gentle with him. It was unnecessary, if one asked Kassander, but no one had, and it was probably more of a side-effect of care than an attempt at patronisation. Kassander could live with it. Only because it was Sandalio and Hasan, if nothing else, and Kassander did not now, and had not ever, loved anyone so much as them. At least, not since Rome.

"How was your day?" Kassander asked, softly.

Sandalio snorted. "Quiet," he said. "A little _too_ quiet."

Kassander leaned back slightly in Sandalio's arms, looking up at him. "The calm before the storm?" he asked.

"Sounds right," Sandalio answered. "Was yours any better?"

Kassander shook his head, looking at the wall. "Apollo took a hit or two," Kassander said.

"The spellcaster?" Sandalio asked.

"Sarnai," Kassander answered. "She seems to be hitting two targets at once."

Sandalio frowned. "That's a bad idea, isn't it?"

"Of course," Kassander replied. "If she gets to messing with Apollo too hard, she'll learn the rough way Apollo messes back." Unfortunately, that might end in her frying her own mind, but that was a little more complex than it sounded and got into territory Kassander had little interest in thinking about just this second. He was already having a hard enough time with things as it was. Of course, he was under no illusions. There would be a lot that was lost in this mess, and he knew it. There wasn't much to do about it, unfortunately, and even if Kassander tried to stop tragedy from striking, people had their own wills. He couldn't stop others from making the choices and decisions they would, and that meant they'd inevitably make mistakes, mistakes that perhaps couldn't quite be recovered from.

This kind of thing, it was always a little befuddling. Did he take the chance and offer his counsel and advice, or did he leave well enough alone and let things go the way they would? The Dragon would survive. It always had, and it always would. But, there was always the chance he could save more than just the Dragon… or destroy it.

"This is that bad?" Sandalio murmured.

Kassander glanced up at him, and then shrugged and shook his head. "No more than usual," he answered. "Why?"

"I lost you for a moment there," Sandalio said. "I know you think a lot, but it seems like you're thinking more than usual."

Kassander made a noise. Maybe he was. "I never know if I want to interfere or if I'd better keep my snoot out of it before I make things worse."

Sandalio snorted. "Always with that, isn't it?"

"Seems that way." Of course, in this situation, there was more at stake than meets the eye. One of the spellcasters would have to make a difficult decision, but then, so far, Kassander had no reason to think one of them wouldn't. If it meant preserving their precious magic realm and their race, at least _one_ of them in there would do just about anything. But then, the first one that came to mind, it was never magic realm he fought for, even though he'd say it was.

Kassander wondered how long it'd take for him to figure it out.

"I did tell Lilith," Kassander said. "About Sarnai and Miss Hell being around, that is."

Sandalio didn't say anything, but Kassander could sense his discontent with the idea. "And why did you do that?" Sandalio asked.

Kassander shrugged. Because he felt like it, probably. At Kassander's age, one simply stopped questioning their own motivations, because they'd ceased to matter after a point. "I guess I'm hoping she can figure it out. If nothing else, there's the Hollow's safety to be concerned with, and Vladislaus may or may not bother to attempt to preserve it."

Sandalio released a sigh. "I'm just concerned you may have gotten her into something she won't be able to get back out of. You know the Vatores are impulsive sometimes."

"As we all were, once," Kassander answered, smirking and turning around in Sandalio's grasp. "But she is one of our strongest. Caleb never wanted to be a vampire, but Lilith's flourished as one. She'll be fine."

Sandalio didn't answer with words, making a concerned noise instead, and frowning.

"Oh, come on," Kassander whispered, reaching up to rest a hand against Sandalio's cheek. "Don't make that face. You'll get wrinkles."

Sandalio laughed under his breath. "I think I'm beyond wrinkles, my love." He paused, leaning forward slightly to nuzzle against Kassander's nose. "But, I've always trusted you before. I'll trust you now." It really was that simple.

* * *

The Hollow was going to change. Vladislaus had tried, thus far, and been marginally successful, to keep it in a kind of stasis, a static existence that never changed or became something that he couldn't recognise, as the rest of the world often did. Unfortunately, that wasn't how things like this worked, and he did know this. Vladislaus simply had a way of rejecting what he didn't like and attempting to mould it to suit his own machinations and desires.

Kassander had met many a man that had done so over the years. Vladislaus wasn't the first, nor would he be the last. The problem remaining was that Forgotten Hollow had existed beneath his exacting jurisdiction for two hundred years now, never changing because change didn't suit his tastes, and now it had 200 years to catch up to all at once. With the right guidance, it could manage to get through that sudden massive shift just fine. Kassander didn't think that guidance was Vladislaus, and if he had any bloody sense, neither did the man in question.

It was no question, even early on with his aloof manner and slightly snappish temperament, that Lilith was Vladislaus' favourite. Though Miss Hell had the drive and perhaps the _ambition_ to run the Hollow, Lilith had something else, something that Miss Hell was sorely lacking in, aside from the fact that Miss Hell was horribly grating a personality. No, Lilith had the want to build a new family where hers had been lost, of _vampires_ , and she saw them not as pawns in her game of glory, but rather as friends, as family. As people that she held in care that few others enjoyed.

She had empathy, without being a pushover. Caleb had the empathy, but he had issues with being a pushover. Miss Hell had the backbone and none could call her a pushover, but she lacked the empathy. Even someone like Vladislaus could understand that a notable lack of empathy made it difficult to lead a people into a future they didn't and _couldn't_ know. They had to trust you. They had to want to believe in you.

Kassander eyed the wall, slightly, and then reached out, fingers just slightly brushing the stone. The bricks were neatly arranged in a notable and repeating pattern, a dark smokey grey tone, one of the prettiest shades of this particular colour Kassander had ever seen. Kassander found joy in very little, any more, but there were things still out there that got him very close to happiness. Most of the time, he never felt one way or another in particular about anything, and was okay with that reality. He always figured it was much better than being in a terrible mood constantly. The frequent ups and downs of life no longer concerned him terribly much, and it left him free to focus on more important things.

As his fingers touched the stone, several of the bricks lit up. Just slightly, Kassander heard a soft beep sound.

"Apollo, aktibatu," Kassander commanded. There came another beep in response, and then the bricks rearranged, opening to reveal a see-through screen. Kassander murmured another string of commands, all in Basque, and the screen deactivated. As Kassander reached into the space where it was, and pulled his hand back, threads of light swirled around his hand. The threads stretched out, forming blocks of light in midair around Kassander's hand. Each block corresponded to a room in the building that he was in.

Apollo had particularly unique manner of handling building security.

Kassander turned the projection around in his hands, manipulating the blocks as he willed. Apollo was first conceptualised quite a number of years ago. It was a mixture of magic and technology, seamlessly working together towards the same goals. The technology was powered by the magic, the magic was powered by the technology. Even now, Apollo seemed to have a mind of its own to some extent, but Kassander had designed it that way, too. The version of Apollo in his home was different from the one protecting the Drago. That one was much larger and more complex, but there was always someone out for his blood. He was used to that, by now, it being one of the only constants in his life, aside from Sandalio and Hasan.

And of course, if Lilith was going to take over the Hollow, then she'd need his support. Many figured, taking out the support would stop most problems, but that wasn't quite how that would work. Kassander wasn't up for demonstrations. That was what Apollo was for, preventing such. It wasn't to say Kassander _couldn't_ deal with it himself. It was merely that he didn't _want_ to.

Of course, the Hollow's leadership would inevitably be contested, and Kassander wasn't terribly interested in getting caught in the middle of _that_ , either. No matter what it was Lilith did, Miss Hell was going to challenge it, because that was what Miss Hell did, and even if it wasn't, _she_ would eventually get the idea of causing internal strife. With the Hollow in shambles, none would be able to rally against _her_ and stop her near endless and consistent stream of vampire fodder. And Vladislaus got them into this situation by refusing her alliance some thirty years ago. Of course, Vladislaus likely knew that was a bad idea, but there were very few _correct_ options in that situation all the same.

The spellcaster had very little idea who exactly it was she was pissing off. It wasn't as if Kassander _broadcast_ these things, but a little poking around over here, a little digging about over there, she could've figured it out. Or perhaps, the answer was that she didn't care.

Well, there was time to fix that character flaw.

Kassander did have to wonder, as he rearranged the locked doors and windows, trained Apollo's energy guns on different points throughout the manor, if Vladislaus was ready for the fallout of his choice back then. He was just about to get it, now, Kassander should think.

* * *

Some spoke of feeling the muscles of a snake move in time to create the creature's motion, and how it was mesmerising and enthralling. Kassander had the same sort of reaction to feeling his _own_ muscles do the same, and that was part of what had driven him, a long time ago, to dancing. And somehow, in the perpetual motion, one movement blurring into the next, Kassander found it easier to think.

He still wasn't sure what to do with this particular situation. There were too many pieces at play, here, it was difficult to know which moves were the smart ones. Of course, no matter what Kassander did, he'd be able to withstand the potential fallout, and he was quite sure the Drago could, as well. Of course, that also wasn't the point. Being as he was someone that would endure no matter what happened, one could say that it was partially his duty, in a sense, to make sure that he didn't destroy anyone else needlessly along the way.

Then again, maybe he was just being dramatic. Kassander _was_ prone to being dramatic, for the fuck of it.

The garden behind the manor was anything but quiet, but Kassander had always found it calming. When the world was younger, and he was too, he had a space out to the side of his villa in Rome. The little villa on the sea, not far from the shore, so close he could run a minute or two that way and run crashing into the sea, as he did from time to time. Floating in the water, letting the waves gently rock him, was calming, too, though for a much different reason. The space out to the side of the villa was his, dusty and coated in sand granules. Leon, one of the house's slaves, insisted on keeping it maintained. Kassander just needed a space that was his, but Leon was adamant about its upkeep, and Kassander couldn't ever bring himself to argue with Leon.

Every morning, for two thousand years, Kassander would wake up just before the sun rose, and head outside. The birds were almost always chirping before he was up, singing their greeting songs before the sun had come, and from that moment until some time after the sun had risen, Kassander danced. As always he did, when the sun finally made its way up above the horizon and over the buildings and trees, when the first rays of the daylight splashed across his face in dapples around the leaves, Kassander could feel the burst of energy it gave him. He was now, and always had been, the sun's first child.

In between one motion and another, Kassander sensed Sandalio, and then felt him, as he slipped over and moved with him. It was from Kassander that Sandalio had learnt to dance, though initially he had little interest in it. His argument was always that he was a _gladiator_ , not a dancer. Kassander failed to see the difference, and somewhere between his stubbornness and his pouting, Sandalio had come out one morning with intent to learn. He was better at it than he thought he was. Of course, they'd been dancing together off and on, now, ever since, and one tended to get rather good at something, doing it for two thousand years.

It took a while, before Kassander finally turned around to face Sandalio. He always smelled a little funny when he came home from work, like paper, a little ink, and stale coffee, the vague lingering tang of cigarette smoke somewhere in there. Somewhere under there, though, was Sandalio.

"Good morning," Kassander said.

Sandalio rested his forehead against Kassander's, and breathed in. "Good morning."

"Was today any better of a day?" Kassander asked.

"Yes, and not really," Sandalio replied. "No one accidentally shot anyone else today, at least. It's nice when they don't do that."

Kassander loosed a smothered giggle.

"Have you figured out what to do, yet?" Sandalio asked.

Kassander turned his head down slightly. "Not really," he said. "And the light's not being much help. Of course, I didn't expect it to be. It likes throwing me into the rapids unexpectedly. Usually sans a paddle. And a _boat_ …"

Sandalio snorted softly. "You've always figured it out just fine, with or without the light's help."

"I know," Kassander said. "I expect nothing else this time around. It's just tiresome." When you'd lived as long as they had, some things just became more trouble than it seemed like they were worth. This wasn't Kassander's first war. His first was Spartacus' war, the third servile war. It was the first, and only, servile war that took place on the Italian peninsula, and it was an experience that Kassander was not quite interested in repeating. On the other hand, he'd be perhaps a very different person without it. Quite literally, as he thought, he and Sandalio, and Hasan, and the Drago before it was the Drago, would've died with the Roman Republic.

Then, neither would they have lived through what they had. There were times when it was debatable, whether death was as much of a tragedy as humans liked to believe that it was. There were things that were worse than death, and Kassander… he knew a few.

"You know," Sandalio said softly, causing Kassander's icy gaze to meet grey. "Waiting in the shadows really isn't your style anymore. And I can tell, how much you want to rip the spellcaster's spine out of her throat. You probably shouldn't just yet."

Kassander snorted. No, he shouldn't. Of course, if he chose to do so _anyway_ , it wasn't as if anyone could tell him he was wrong. Perhaps Morgyn Ember might be on Kassander's ass about it, because Morgyn didn't know any better, and yet also did, it was a very complex thing. It wasn't as if Kassander was afraid of Morgyn Ember, however, and Morgyn Ember had bigger problems than the father of vampires deciding to take down a parasite. She was inevitably upsetting the magical balance and the separation of the various worlds, things that would, were the spellcasters any form of intelligent life, end in the _spellcasters_ deciding to turn on her.

And yet they didn't. Because of Morgyn Ember. And every so often, Kassander lost more of his children, and for what?

Kassander glanced down at the grass beneath them, and then drew a breath in, looked back up at Sandalio, and smiled.

* * *

The sound of the waves crashing into the concrete walkway and the sea birds screeching overhead were almost enough to drown out his thoughts. As it was, Kassander had only come out here for a certain reason, primarily that he didn't want the spellcaster anywhere near the manor. If she dared set foot into his territory, after all the trouble she'd already caused him, it would not end well for her.

Kassander moved for very little. Defending what was his was one of those things.

A quick glance around told him no one else was out this early. The sun was barely up, the light just now making it past the rooftops. With a slight flick of his hand, magical light spread beneath Kassander's feet, swirls of intricate design curling around itself across the concrete. Kassander was born, and learnt magic, before this _All_ stuff. His magic did not work the same way theirs did, didn't have the same rules and restrictions. The ancient magics were the only true untamed ones. But he'd let the untamed spellcasters go on like they knew a thing or two about chaos and destruction. They all learnt differently, one day.

The light dimmed, died off, and Aine loosed a screech. Her eyes flicked up, and around at their environment, and then to Kassander, his back to her, in confusion.

"What…" she started to ask.

Kassander snorted. "You should've expected this sooner or later, Aine," he said.

"How did you do that?" she asked. "You shouldn't have been able to _find_ me, let alone _summon_ me, that shouldn't be possible either -"

Kassander rolled his eyes, drawing a breath in. Whatever she had to say was of very little import to him, anyway. He tuned her out, until she was quiet finally, and stayed that way for longer than it took to draw a breath.

"… well?" she demanded.

Kassander turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Were you talking?" he asked.

Aine looked annoyed, her nostrils flaring, and she turned around and walked away.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, I wasn't done with you," Kassander said, turning around and raising a hand. From the concrete beneath her feet burst out chains of golden energy, which rapidly snaked up her legs and rooted her in place.

"Unchain me!" Aine snarled.

"I'm afraid I do whatever the fuck I want," Kassander answered, his tone level. "What is it, exactly, that you think you're doing?"

"I don't know what you're talking -"

"Oh, don't play stupid now," Kassander said, interrupting her. "It isn't very becoming of you, and you and I both know you know more about us than that. I can sense it, you know."

Aine's eyes narrowed. "Can you?" she asked.

Kassander snorted, shoes tapping against the concrete as he made his way over to her, and knelt down. "They are bound to me," he said. "I will know every time, that much is unavoidable. And believe me, I have way more important things to be doing with my time than feeling you manipulate and murder my children from time to time." He'd rather not sense it.

"You don't scare me," Aine said, levelling a stare at him. And she seemed to be telling the truth. There was no shaking that told another story, no hesitance meeting his gaze, even as his eyes brightened and began to emit a soft glow.

"I should," Kassander answered. "It would be in your best interests not to play this game with me, Aine. You have no _idea_ what the rules are."

Aine snorted. "Oh please, of course I do. It's the same as anything else, isn't it? You win or I win."

Kassander's gaze flicked to the concrete, and then back to her. "But if only it was so simple," he said. "That's alright. There's still time to learn, but I must warn you, I don't teach the easy way." Kassander paused, reached out, and tapped Aine's nose. The blond loosed a soft snort of amusement.

She didn't seem so entertained by this, wrinkling her nose. "Are you mad?"

Kassander loosed another amused snort. "Many would say so, I'm sure," he said. "Of course, you're the madder of us, aren't you? Playing with fire and ice. You know the prophecy could be about either one."

Aine's eyes narrowed again, and she visibly reared her head back. "How do you know about the prophecy?"

"In your shadow he will grow stronger…" Kassander said. "I know everything. At least, everything important." Of course, he always knew shadows to be kindly things, uninterested in conflict, until something pushed the wrong buttons. Ezio would inevitably be no different, but it was probably already far too late for that, in this specific case. Aine had likely already long messed it up.

Kassander stood up, and walked away a few paces. "You're getting on my last nerves," he said. "Find something else to wage your wars with, because you will have no more of my children, or I will rip your spine out through your nose." Ah. He hadn't threatened someone in a while, now. How refreshing, truly.

"I'm still not afraid of you," Aine answered, her tone low. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Ah," Kassander said. "I see. Well, I will not warn you again." Unfortunately, she didn't seem to understand the meaning of father of vampires. Most didn't, but neither did they need to. They figured it out pretty quickly when he took them to pieces. Or they didn't. Either way, they weren't _his_ problem anymore. Kassander turned on one heel, and walked away.

"Hey!" Aine shrieked behind him. "You undo these chains before you walk away from me!"

Kassander paused in his step, smirking slightly. Then, he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"They'll wear off on their own," he said. " _Probably_." And then, he continued on his way. Aine did more protesting behind him as he went, but he had already tuned her shrieking out, and with one final step and a burst of shadow, he was gone.

* * *

She'd been pacing constantly. It was beginning to drive Sarnai just a little bit nuts, but all things considered, Sarnai already _was_ nuts, so perhaps it was making no difference whatsoever. As it was, Sarnai was trying to focus on something else. Whatever Miss Hell was back there pacing around for, that was someone else's problem (perhaps Miss Hell's, but more likely someone else's, because Miss Hell rarely kept her problems to herself).

Sarnai hovered several feet off the floor, swirls of dark energy around her. If she could manage to get around the spellcasters' barrier, then she could break into magic realm, presumably. Lakshmi seemed to have some idea of how the barrier worked, but thus far the information she'd provided hadn't gotten Sarnai through it. Somewhere beyond it was the All, and Sarnai desperately needed the All. Certainly, she needed it more than the spellcasters did.

Well, that was perhaps debatable, but it was a debate Sarnai was not interested in having.

"He's got to be ancient by now," Miss Hell eventually mumbled back there.

Sarnai rolled her eyes slightly, trying not to _look_ disinterested. "Vlad?" she asked.

"Of course!" Miss Hell snapped. "Who else would I be talking about?"

The Pope, for all Sarnai gave a damn, but she kept that to herself. "No idea."

"If he's as old as everyone claims he is, then he must be easy enough to defeat in combat," Miss Hell explained.

Sarnai shook her head. "He can't be," she said. "He has mental powers beyond even us, we don't think you can handle it either."

"I just _happen_ to be stronger than you," Miss Hell said. "Besides, you're crazy. You wouldn't know strategy if it bit you in the ass."

And that was why she never flaunted her intelligence. "Right," Sarnai said. "Forgot."

"Of course you did," Miss Hell said, sneering. "When I take over the Hollow, I'll remember you, you know."

"That's nice," Sarnai said, her hands joining in front of her. Magic realm's barrier was complicated merely because it seemed to be multiple barriers all layered over each other. Like each generation of sages had added their own protections to it over time, and now it was this great, messy monstrosity that was a literal pain to break through. Nothing was beyond Sarnai, at least, no barriers were. Her family weren't terribly good at breaking them, but she'd undone barriers that were far superior to this one.

Miss Hell _talking_ to her every ten minutes likely wasn't helping with breaking it, for lack of concentration. But it was either Miss Hell talking to her, or Lakshmi doing it. Either way, Sarnai was distracted. With Miss Hell doing the distracting, Sarnai was _also_ annoyed. For some reason, it helped her energy levels.

"I'm going to crown myself queen," Miss Hell said. "And then I can have anyone I want, and no one can tell me no. _Finally_ , maybe I can get Caleb back."

"We wouldn't count on it," Sarnai said, half distracted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miss Hell demanded, whirling around. Her good mood seemed to temper.

Sarnai snorted. "You're not unpleasant to look at, but your personality is."

Miss Hell stiffened up slightly, like she wanted to argue with that, but then one eyebrow raised, and her head tilted to the side. "Alright, that's fair," she finally said. "But that's why Caleb and I were meant for each other."

"We wouldn't count on that, either," Sarnai said. People sure were good at deluding themselves, even when they weren't exactly _people_ in the conventional sense of the term. That wasn't Sarnai's problem, that was for sure.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Miss Hell asked, watching her float there above the floor.

Sarnai released a sigh. She remembered telling her this before, but perhaps it got lost in Miss Hell's delusions of grandeur and ideas of becoming someone notable. Or, perhaps she wanted the Hollow specifically because then she could become queen and decide that Caleb was her consort or something and no one could argue. That was such a foolish and petty reason to aim for a crown Sarnai had ever heard, and she'd heard quite a number of petty reasons over the centuries.

Then, she wondered if Miss Hell was aware she was rather doomed to fail at this… then again, she was nothing if not determined and tenacious, perhaps Miss Hell _could_ take over the Hollow. And perhaps no one would be able to stop her, save maybe Lilith. Ah, the other problem, Sarnai figured; Miss Hell had yet to figure out Lilith Vatore was a vampire specifically and solely to rip out her throat. Probably with her teeth, because fan service.

"Breaking a barrier," Sarnai mumbled after a moment.

"Why?" Miss Hell asked.

"Because it needs to be broken," Sarnai answered.

"Yes, but why does the barrier need to be broken?" Miss Hell asked.

Sarnai released a very loud sigh. "Because the barrier doesn't allow vampires through it and we need to get into magic realm," she said.

"Oh," Miss Hell answered. "You could probably build a thousand magic realms if you really -"

"It's not the realm we're after!" Sarnai snapped. "And don't you have something else to do? You're supposed to be _finding someone_. There's a reason you were sent to San Myshuno. And don't think we don't know about Markus."

"Hey, you stay out of that!" Miss Hell argued.

"Stop making all of your business _our_ business, and we will," Sarnai bit back, snarling just slightly. Unlike other, much younger whelps, Miss Hell didn't recoil from the sound. Instead, she steeled slightly, her eyes narrowing.

"We're in this together," Miss Hell said.

"And now's a stupid, nonsensical, and inconvenient time for you to decide you care about that," Sarnai answered. "Go move into your palace."

"I have to get the palace first," Miss Hell answered.

"Then go get the palace," Sarnai replied. Whatever it took for Miss Hell to go away, that was all Sarnai cared about.

Miss Hell crossed her arms, loosed a tisking sound, and then walked away. Finally, some blessed silence. Maybe Sarnai could make some progress, now.


	7. And You Had Everything to Lose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -UNCONTROLLABLE SQUEALING-  
> I think I lied about the ships. Maybe. A little.  
> This Is Your Life, Switchfoot

Strangely, Morgyn was already awake, when the sunlight spilled in Ezio's bedroom windows. The blond had spent the entire time watching the sun rise, the sky slowly change colours, the city lights dim away, and Morgyn had to admit, Ezio was onto something with liking San Myshuno so much. It was pretty, just in a very different way than Morgyn was accustomed to. It wouldn't be so bad, living here. Already, Morgyn was getting used to the noise level, and it'd be nice to be so close to Ezio again.

It was already decided, in the sage's mind, that Morgyn was staying at the Casa. Talking to Ezio about it was really more for show than anything, so no one could say, that Morgyn, rushing headlong into things again. Not that they weren't very right when they said it. Morgyn had simply gotten sick of hearing it last century, really.

Ezio woke up shortly before the sun came up. He'd been moving around out there for a while, but Morgyn figured if the blond came out too early, Ezio would think Morgyn was sick or something. Morgyn rarely ever woke up this early. Actually, now that Morgyn was thinking about it, what the heck all _had_ the blond gotten up so early for? Who knew? It felt like an important day, that was all. Like today, Morgyn's whole life was going to change, and maybe it would.

Soon enough, Morgyn would be studying the life sciences, making some sense out of things that didn't seem to have any sense, and maybe, for once, Morgyn could make something right instead of only making it all worse. The sage would never admit feeling that way, at least, not to Ezio. It didn't matter anymore. Morgyn was one step closer to making everything alright. Then, it was probably best if the blond didn't hinge all of Morgyn's hopes on this. Maybe the science couldn't fix it, either. It was worth trying.

Eventually, Morgyn took a breath in, and rolled off the bed. The light had been streaming through the windows for a while now, and Morgyn wasn't getting any younger. Morgyn quickly ran fingers through blond waves, and then scuttled out into the hallway that led into the kitchen. This apartment wasn't the worst one Morgyn had ever seen, really, the blond just also had another, additional motivation for this. Doctors made a lot of money, no? Between a doctor and an attorney, they should be able to get Ezio out of here.

Ezio deserved the world, if one asked Morgyn. He didn't seem to _want_ the world, though. Maybe by the end of this, Morgyn could get the idiot to retire and stop stressing himself out all the time. Fat chance of that, really, but it was worth trying for.

"Morning," Morgyn greeted, shuffling about the kitchen to make a cup of that coffee Ezio had put on.

Ezio made a face, drinking a cup of tea and reading a newspaper. "You're up awfully early," he said. "And weirdly _coherent_."

Morgyn loosed a smothered laugh. "Yeah, I guess," Morgyn answered, mixing a bit of sugar into the coffee cup and sitting down across the table. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Ezio pulled another face. "Fine," he answered. "What's with that, I haven't done anything to warrant that kind of question in a while."

No, Morgyn supposed he hadn't. The blond shrugged slightly, head tilting to one side, green eyes casting to the sage's cup. "I guess not," Morgyn said. "But you're my brother. I think I'll always worry about you, at least a little." Him having a heart condition wasn't necessarily erased simply because it hadn't caused him notable trouble recently. It just meant that for the moment, the demon was sleeping. Morgyn's nerves were most certainly not.

Ezio was quiet for a moment, then his hand dropped off the side of his teacup, and he reached across the table to take one of Morgyn's hands. Morgyn looked up at him, and his eyes seemed to smile.

It was strange to Morgyn, how much older he always seemed. There were things behind the grey of his eyes that Morgyn would never understand, the blond knew that much, that seemed to make him know more than he should. Was it so wrong, to want some peace for him finally? Maybe it was. Maybe that wasn't Morgyn's place anymore.

The issue, of course, with time passing and them both moving on from each other and starting to have lives without one another, was that Morgyn had no idea what that meant. Morgyn knew what was right and how to move forward as long as the blond also knew that Ezio was right behind. Ezio was right, of course, some decade or so past, when he said that they couldn't live like that forever, so dependent on each other's presence that they barely knew who they were without each other. It was a long and drawn out way of saying that Morgyn had to let him go, because someday he wouldn't be there anymore, but the message was clear enough all the same.

"I uh," Morgyn started, squeezing Ezio's fingers like the contact was all that was keeping Morgyn from breaking apart, "I think I found somewhere else to go, so I can be nearby but not imposing."

"Morgyn, I didn't mean it like that," Ezio said.

"No I know," Morgyn answered. "It's just… I mean you're still getting your life together, and I don't want to make anything harder on you. And I'll still be nearby, right across the street, over there where the rainbow columns are."

"Ah, the Casa di Colori," Ezio said, glancing at the floor.

"Yeah," Morgyn said. "Hey, they're nice people, and I won't be far. And I won't have to figure out how to pay for university tuition and also find a job and somehow balance the two. I'm not good at responsibility, that's your thing."

Ezio looked somewhere between amused and exasperated. "You'd be good enough at responsibility if you bothered to _try_ ," Ezio said.

"Nah," Morgyn said, head shaking. "I can't bother to try. I wouldn't want you thinking I don't need you anymore." Morgyn reached out, fingers brushing against Ezio's cheek. "There'll never be a time when I don't."

Ezio didn't say anything to that, just released a breath. "You got into university?" he asked.

"Yep," Morgyn answered, hand dropping back to the coffee cup. "I've got my schedule and student ID and everything now. I start on Monday."

Ezio smiled softly. "Good."

* * *

Another talk with Brandon at the Casa di Colori later, and Morgyn had a place to go. The blond would be staying with Ezio for another week, and then would be moving across the street to the house on the water with the rainbow columns. Morgyn had met a few others at the Casa, other staff and regular tenants, and everyone was nice enough. Morgyn could complain, but it'd be silly to.

The blond was a little excited, and a little scared. There weren't many things Morgyn had ever done without Ezio, and in some sense, the blond used him as something of a crutch. Probably, Ezio knew as much, and let Morgyn do it, even while knowing that he shouldn't. Then, Ezio always did have trouble telling Morgyn no. It seemed to be a common affliction. Even Drake found it slightly complex. L had no issues with it, but L had no issues with anything. Morgyn envied her that.

As Morgyn skipped out of the elevator and headed back to Ezio's apartment, one of the other doors opened. Morgyn came to a stop, smiling slightly as Caleb stepped out into the hallway, turned around, and looked a bit surprised.

"What?" Morgyn asked, amused. "Didn't sense me coming?"

"Not this time, no," Caleb answered. "How's everything going then?"

He looked a little flustered, but Morgyn paid it no mind. Caleb usually did around the sage. "Fine enough," Morgyn answered. "I'm a resident of the Casa di Colori now, at least. Going to stay with Ezio for a bit longer and then move."

Caleb smiled. "Glad I suggested it then," he said. "Brandon's the adoptive son of one of the vampires out here, I figured it'd be decent enough a place for a spellcaster to go, too."

Morgyn laughed. "Turns out they have an occult wing."

"Yeah, can't say that surprises me," Caleb answered. "You're doing okay? You know, you personally?"

Morgyn's smile faded slightly, and the blond glanced down at the floor, for a moment. "Yeah," Morgyn said. "It's just hard not to think stupid things around Ezio I guess."

Caleb looked a bit concerned, crossing the small distance between them to take one of Morgyn's hands in his. "You never talk about it," he said.

Morgyn shrugged one shoulder, looking down at their joined hands. "There's nothing _to_ say," the blond answered softly. "Same things as always. Nothing ever changes because I think some part of Ezio doesn't want it to, I can never do anything about it, if anything I just make it all worse, and now here I am going to Foxbury and taking _science_ classes in hopes that maybe for once I won't be a giant _fuck up_ and can do something that's actually useful for once instead of just moping."

Caleb loosed a breath, and then took another step forward and gently wrapped his arms around the smaller blond.

Morgyn squeaked slightly, and then relaxed and leaned into the contact. Morgyn still usually wasn't very tactile, but things changed around Caleb. The blond still hadn't thought about that too hard. There were too many other things going on to think about it much. "Sorry," the blond murmured.

"No," Caleb answered, without hesitation. "You're always welcome to have feelings around me, Morgyn."

Morgyn sighed. "Just seems stupid," the blond said. "Ezio's the one that's sick. Ezio's the one that decides what to do with it. I just don't like what he's decided to do with it." It wasn't like Ezio would lose his magic becoming a vampire, or he couldn't ever get over the sensitivity to sunlight. There were even some vampires that were _strong_ in sunlight, Ezio could easily be one. He just didn't seem to want that. He didn't want to stay.

Ah. That was it.

"I think it feels like I'm not good enough to stay for," Morgyn said.

Caleb shook his head. "No, no," he said. "Morgyn, no. Ezio _loves_ you, very much, you know that. You _know_ that."

Morgyn's head shook, too, the blond letting Caleb go, fidgeting slightly. The blond looked down. "Do I?" Morgyn whispered. "I've always wondered a little. If maybe Ezio doesn't just see me as an obligation. Someone that he has to take care of because I can't take care of myself. Even at magic realm, L and Simeon are always taking care of me, because if they didn't I'd probably seriously live on needs potions. Less of a pain in the ass, anyway. I've always wondered, a little, if maybe I'm just a burden to him. I'm too terrified to ask but I think I need the answer all the same."

Caleb loosed a soft snort. "No wonder we became friends," he said. "You and Ezio are so much like me and Lilith. I feel the same way about her. Unlike you, I'm not even good at _pretending_ I'm not weak."

"You're _not_ weak, Caleb," Morgyn argued.

"Thanks," Caleb said, smiling. "But I kind of am. I'm not good at this vampire stuff. Never really have been, never wanted to be. Lilith was just, oh, we're vampires now, that sucks - wait what am I talking about? and charged right into it. And I've been in a consistent state of mope since I was maybe thirty." Caleb snorted again. "She's the strong one," he went on. "I've just gotten good at mimicking her strength."

So what now? It wasn't like Morgyn didn't _know_ the blond had a complex with Ezio. He was the stronger of them. He took to magic better, even, had taught himself. Keisha had helped, somewhat, but mostly Ezio learnt untamed magic on his own, because Ezio didn't want to learn from Aine and Aine had no interest in teaching him anyway. Why it was that Aine had almost immediately hated Ezio, that was something Morgyn had thought about a few times, and never found an answer for. Maybe that was something Morgyn would have to ask Aine.

There were probably a lot of things that Morgyn would have to ask Aine. But those answers, too, Morgyn was afraid of getting.

"Hey," Caleb said, taking both of Morgyn's hands in his. Morgyn looked up at him. "Let me take you out."

Morgyn blinked, one eyebrow raising. "What like… on a _date_?"

Caleb laughed. "Yes, actually, like on a date. Ezio could use the downtime anyway, and you look like you need a pick-me-up."

Of all the things that Morgyn expected to come out of his mouth, that wasn't anywhere on the list. Of course, in hindsight, Morgyn had to wonder what'd taken him so long. Then again, Ezio always said Morgyn wasn't the easiest person to approach. But of course the blond wasn't. It was safer that way, after all. But it wasn't like Morgyn had ever been afraid of Caleb.

Actually, Caleb was the only other person Morgyn was really relaxed around, aside from Ezio and Drake, at least.

"Okay," Morgyn said, nodding slightly. "When?"

"Oh." Caleb looked surprised, apparently not having expected that response. "Uh. Tonight at seven?"

"Sure," Morgyn answered.

"Okay. Uh. Well, I'll… I should uh I should go find something to wear and make plans and reservations and stuff, maybe."

Morgyn loosed a huff of air, smiling. "Okay."

Caleb raised Morgyn's hands, kissing the backs of them both, and practically _skipped_ across the hall back to his apartment. Morgyn loosed a sigh, one hand tracing the slight lingering tingle where Caleb had kissed the blond's skin, and then turned and headed for Ezio's apartment.

* * *

The second the door closed behind Morgyn, it was like a switch had suddenly flipped. Suddenly, the blond was horribly _nervous_ , and there was no reason to be so nervous. It was just Caleb! Okay, it wasn't like Caleb had been _just Caleb_ in a while now, but - Morgyn thunked against the back of the apartment door, biting at the blond's lower lip and smiling. Okay. Morgyn had a date. With Caleb.

Morgyn really couldn't help the squeal that escaped suddenly.

Ezio looked up from the coffee table, working on his presentation again, presumably. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Drake, sitting at the other end of the coffee table with his laptop, also looked a hair concerned.

"I'm fine! I'm _great_!" Morgyn answered, grinning practically from ear to ear. Wait, oh no. Morgyn's expression suddenly dropped into sheer panic. "You have to help me!" Morgyn exclaimed, and then hopped up onto the couch, walking across it behind Drake, and then grabbed Ezio's hand, and dragged him across the dining room to the bedroom.

"Whoa!" Ezio managed to get out along the way. "Morgyn slow down."

"I can't!" Morgyn answered, closing the door behind them. "I have a date, tonight, and I need your help, what the hell am I going to wear? Oh god, I don't think I have anything on-hand that's like _date material_ , it's all like, I'm walking around town in the snow sort of stuff because that's all I expected to be doing what am I gonna do!?"

"Whoa, hey, wow," Ezio said, holding his hands up. "Breathe, first off."

"I don't have time for breathing!" Morgyn answered in a rush.

"When is this date?" Ezio asked.

"Seven."

"It's three," Ezio answered, shuffling over to Morgyn's suitcase. "You've got four hours, it's plenty of time. Just calm down a little. I take it Caleb asked?"

"Yes?" Morgyn answered. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"The boy's only been pining after you for _centuries_ , Morgyn, anyone with _eyes_ knows," Ezio answered, rolling his eyes, and settled down to pop the lid on Morgyn's suitcase. "You can't tell me this thing's not magically connected to your closet in magic realm."

"Well I could _say_ that," Morgyn said. "You wouldn't believe me and it'd also be basically a lie anyway…" Morgyn supposed that was the point.

Judging by the highly unamused expression on Ezio's face, Morgyn was going to go with, yes, that was the point.

"I'm really nervous," Morgyn said.

Ezio smiled and released a breath, digging through Morgyn's clothes. "I noticed." Ezio glanced up at Morgyn and then patted the floor next to him. "Come on, come over here," he said. "We'll figure this out."

Morgyn pouted slightly, but did eventually trudge over there, settling down on the floor next to him. Ezio pulled things out here and there and held it up in front of Morgyn, tilted his head, wrinkled his nose, and then folded it up and set it on the floor. From time to time, he'd not wrinkle his nose, but instead raise his eyebrows, and that went in a different pile.

"There," Ezio eventually said, setting everything in the 'nose wrinkle' pile back into the suitcase. "These look nice enough, not too wintery, not too skimpy. Where are you guys going?"

"I actually don't know," Morgyn answered, somewhat sheepishly.

"Well, knowing Caleb, you're not going to Bob's Burgers," Ezio answered, picking up a nice, dark red blouse. It didn't quite fit Morgyn right, it was a little bit loose in the shoulders (it probably wouldn't be on Ezio), and Morgyn made a face.

"Come on," Ezio said, "you look _great_ in this, and it's suitable enough for more formal situations without going the whole nine yards with a dress that looks like you're headed to a wedding, and probably yours."

Morgyn blinked, and then scowled. He was probably right.

"Then we just pair this with it," Ezio went on, handing Morgyn a black skirt. It wasn't a _special_ black skirt, it was just the only black skirt Morgyn owned. The other one was red plaid, and probably a bit much for this situation.

"How do you know exactly what to put me in without really thinking about it?" Morgyn asked.

"I did a lot of thinking," Ezio said. "I just thought about it relatively quickly. Now, you've got time to go have a shower, comb your hair out, and get dressed, and then we'll do your makeup."

Morgyn pouted again, arms crossing. "How are you so calm? You just have all the answers on a silver platter here and I'm feeling really outdone."

Ezio smiled. "I've been waiting for this day," he answered.

Morgyn raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for it, huh?"

"Of course," Ezio answered. "Same way you've probably been waiting for the day Drake and I go out on a date, right?"

Well, no, actually. Morgyn hadn't been _thinking_ about that, not really. Of course, some part of the blond figured eventually one would ask the other out, but another part thought maybe one already _had_ and the other had said no. And then, Morgyn had dropped that thought, because Morgyn had done enough meddling in Ezio's love life. That meddling hadn't turned out very well, though of course, Morgyn was right, every time, and one could consider that a win on Morgyn's part.

Morgyn didn't. Morgyn would've rather been wrong, about Jackson, about… all of them, everything, and wasn't.

The blond turned down to look at the clothes in Morgyn's lap. Ezio had good taste, and knew what Morgyn looked good in, but that wasn't surprising. Nobody knew Morgyn better than Ezio did. Just like no one knew Ezio better than Morgyn did.

"What are you so afraid of, Ezio?" Morgyn asked softly.

Ezio glanced at the blond, and then shrugged. "It's more complicated than that."

"Is it?" Morgyn asked. "Or do you just really wish it was, so you don't have to deal with it?"

Ezio released a breath, looking at the wall. "It's not -"

"Ezio, I just… you _love_ him," Morgyn said. "And he loves you."

"I know that," Ezio said, softly. "I'm _dying_ , Morgyn. That's all there is to it." Ezio moved towards the door. Morgyn reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Ezio, you're _not dead yet_ ," Morgyn said, green eyes looking up at him, _begging_ him to think about it beyond just he was dying. "No matter what happens, you know it'll hurt him, a lot, to lose you. I'm just saying maybe you should talk things out, before it's too late. So you don't…" Morgyn hesitated a moment, glancing down at the floor. "… don't go and leave behind regrets and might've beens. Ezio, I love you, okay? And I want you to be happy, not just _not unhappy_ , you know? I don't think you ever have been."

Ezio released a sigh, turning his wrist around and taking Morgyn's hand in his. "Of course I am," he said. "I have you, I have so many friends, I'm chasing my dreams. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Morgyn's eyebrows raised, the blond's head tilting to one side. " _Are_ you chasing your dreams?" Morgyn asked. "Or do they just sound good enough to pretend they're your dreams?"

Ezio's eyes widened just a fraction, and then narrowed again. Then, he reached down with his other hand, patted the back of Morgyn's, and walked away. "You still need a shower," he said.

Morgyn released a sigh. Of course. He was right, though. Morgyn's head shook slightly, and the blond stood up, and shuffled for the bathroom.

* * *

Ezio hadn't wasted much time after Morgyn got out of the shower. He came over with a whole box of makeup, a jar of coconut oil and several combs, and an array of headbands. Maybe he really _had_ been waiting for this day, with makeup options and shiny, glittering things. Morgyn didn't think they were going anywhere notably _fancy_ , but then this _was_ Caleb they were talking about. He didn't tend to half-ass much, and that was part of what made Morgyn like him in the first place. The fact he treated the blond like a _person_ helped a lot, too.

Wordlessly, Ezio sat Morgyn down on the floor in front of a chair, and he went to combing coconut oil through blond waves. Their hair didn't tangle as easily as for some, such as those that had curls, but their hair was somewhat thin, and textured enough to break easily when brushing it. Ezio had eventually discovered that coconut oil helped the tangles slide out without pulling too hard on the hair strands and breaking them. It also did a decent job in taming the frizz.

Morgyn silently read a book while Ezio worked, and then switched to watching the wall and working through a soda after Ezio told the blond to go get dressed. Ezio meticulously did Morgyn's makeup, going for strong reds and elegant eyeliner, something not too flashy, but more flashy than usual. Morgyn was a bit of a show-off sometimes, and Ezio knew it all too well. Eventually, Ezio slid one of the sparkly gold headbands beneath Morgyn's hair, smiled to himself, and backed away.

"Absolutely perfect," he said, quietly admiring his work.

Morgyn's eyebrows raised slightly, and the blond turned around to look in the floor mirror behind them. Morgyn instantly drew a breath of surprise in. "Oh, _wow_ …" Morgyn said, barely a whisper.

"You look fantastic," Ezio said, trying to sound reassuring.

"It's not too much?" Morgyn asked.

"Oh come on," Ezio answered. "If Caleb can't handle you like this then he doesn't deserve you otherwise. Besides, you look fantastic, it's not too much at all. You wouldn't be you if you weren't really red."

Morgyn let out a huffing laugh. "I guess so, yeah," Morgyn replied. "Thank you. For helping with this, I know you've got other things to do."

"Never too much that I can't find time for you," Ezio answered, smiling.

As Morgyn stared into the mirror, though, the less the blond thought this was a good idea. What was the blond doing, saying _yes_ , anyway? Caleb could do way better than a date with _Morgyn_ of all people, though admittedly he didn't seem to have any interest in anyone else. And there was that thing where Caleb was still interested in Morgyn, in general, for starters, even after the blond had transitioned. That meant something, didn't it? It was hard for Morgyn to know _what_ it meant, unless the blond _asked_ , but just like how Morgyn couldn't ask Ezio if there were times that Ezio resented the blond, it was likely to be impossible to ask Caleb what that meant.

If Morgyn stopped _thinking_ about it, and _felt_ , instead, maybe the blond already knew, anyway.

"I can't do this," Morgyn decided, turning back around and heading for the bathroom.

"What?" Ezio asked, blinking. He stood up and went to follow, and then scurried around in front of Morgyn, blocking the way to the door. "You can't just decide you're not doing this now!"

"Yes I can," Morgyn answered. "I can, and I did, and I'll just have to call Caleb and apologise and make up some excuses that include a fabricated aunt May."

Ezio's expression flattened. "We don't have an aunt May, and Caleb _knows_ that, idiot."

Morgyn huffed. "Then I'll come up with something else, I just, I _can't_! I can't."

"And why is that?" Ezio asked, arms crossing over his chest.

"What if I forget how to speak Simlish, and and all my grace goes away, and I accidentally do magic in public and what if something happens and you need me or L and Simeon do, or or something else really terrible happens, you know there are about 17 meteorites a day that manage to reach the planet's surface, that's a significant number -"

"Morgyn, stop it," Ezio said, reaching out and taking Morgyn's shoulders. "You're being overly dramatic for nothing. Everything will be just _fine_."

"You don't know that," Morgyn said.

"Yes I do," Ezio answered. "If I need anything, Drake is here, okay, so's Lilith, it'll be fine. L and Simeon can handle things on their own too, and you won't forget Simlish. If you do magic in public, oh well, and if you lose your grace and get clumsy, I think Caleb would just find that cute and maybe a little reassurance in the fact you're not infallible either. Come on, you know he's going to be nervous too, it'll be okay. Just you and Caleb, like always, only this time with candlelight and romantic music maybe."

Morgyn loosed a loud whinge. That didn't help! Except, it sort of did, now that Morgyn thought about it. "You really think he'll be nervous too?" Morgyn asked.

"Of course," Ezio answered. "Jeez, have you _seen_ yourself recently, I mean, you walk in and just about anybody'd get nervous. You'll probably make the entire place nervous."

Morgyn snorted in amusement. "Yeah?" the blond asked.

"Yeah," Ezio answered. "Because their date can't stop looking and for that matter, neither can they, now, come on, deep breaths." Ezio straightened up, taking a deep breath in. Morgyn looked unsure but followed his lead, as he counted the seconds. The breathing exercises helped, and Morgyn knew it, they'd done these together before when Morgyn couldn't figure out how to overcome the anxiety over whatever thing it was this time.

It was always Ezio saving Morgyn.

"Sorry," Morgyn said, eventually, quiet.

"Hey," Ezio said, leaning to the side to look at the blond. "This is what I'm here for."

Morgyn started to answer, but knocking on the door interrupted. Morgyn's arms raised, pulling against the blond's body as the nerves came back and Morgyn's heart leapt into the sage's throat. Oh gosh it was time already?!

"No," Ezio said, "Morgyn, breathe. Come on, you were doing good. And maybe it's just Geeta anyway."

Well, she sure did seem to complain about just about everything, Morgyn had to admit. Ezio turned around, opened the door, and went to the entryway. Morgyn nudged the door mostly closed, listening from the other side.

"Hey, don't you look sharp," Ezio said as he opened the door.

"Thanks," Caleb's voice answered. "Morgyn's about ready, right?"

"Sure is," Ezio replied. "In fact, should be out here in just a minute." His tone made it sound like it was a hint. Morgyn still couldn't quite go out there. "You kids be back before two in the morning, now."

Caleb snorted. "Yeah, probably a good idea, or we'll get the Rasoyas on our butts again."

"Just a second, I'll go let Morgyn know you're here," Ezio said. He left the front door open, but he shuffled back to the bedroom and gently nudged the door out of the way, like he knew Morgyn was behind it. Maybe he did. "Come on."

"I can't," Morgyn whispered. "Just tell him I got sick or something."

"Morgyn, I'm not _lying_ for you," Ezio answered, his tone quiet. "Remember what I said. Deep breaths. Everything will be fine."

"What if it's not?"

"Believe in the me that believes in you," Ezio replied.

Morgyn went quiet. That was unexpected a response, somehow, and the blond wasn't sure what to do with it. "Do you really?" Morgyn asked.

"Of course I do," Ezio said, peeking around the door. "Morgyn, remember what I said when the All chose you? You were scared then, too, but you got through it, and you'll get through this."

 _I believe in you, Morgyn. I always have, and I always will._ That was what he'd said. Morgyn couldn't forget it, even if the blond tried.

Morgyn took a breath in, held it, and then released it. And, moved the door out of the way. Ezio smiled, turning and shuffling into the living room, and Morgyn went to the door, stepping out and closing it behind.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Caleb said, barely breathing, from across the hall where he'd wandered to. He moved over to Morgyn, though, one hand reaching out to take one of Morgyn's.

"Is that good?" Morgyn asked softly.

"I… I, yeah, I just - wow. I feel a little underdressed. You… look _amazing_ , but you always seem to." Caleb got lost for a moment, and then suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Right, uh, this is… for you." Caleb reached into his jacket shirt pocket, a nice looking blazer with roses on one shoulder, and pulled out a single red rose.

"Oh…" Morgyn smiled, reaching over to take the rose. "Thank you," Morgyn said, turning the flower around in one hand.

"You're welcome," Caleb answered. "Well, we'd better get going, or we'll be late." Caleb turned his head back slightly, letting Morgyn's hand go and holding his arm out.

Morgyn smiled even more, and wordlessly looped an arm through Caleb's.

* * *

Caleb had interesting tastes. He'd made a reservation at a relatively fancy and slightly expensive restaurant up at the top of one of the towers in San Myshuno. The view was absolutely breathtaking, and more than once, Morgyn had gone over to the edge of the restaurant just to stare out across the water. Caleb had been amused by it, mostly, but it did make ensuring the blond's butt was in the seat when the server came back with their orders a little bit difficult.

But otherwise, it'd gone off without a hitch. No notably sized meteorites had crashed into the planet, Drake hadn't called in a panic because Ezio was having a heart attack, L and Simeon didn't seem to need anything either. Neither of them turned green, no magic had been done on accident, and Morgyn hadn't forgotten how to speak Simlish.

Ezio was right. It was just Morgyn and Caleb, only with candle- and starlight this time.

At the end of it, they made their way back to the Spice Market, hand in hand. Morgyn had taken the time to freeze the rose in magic, so that it wouldn't wither away. Caleb had already thought to break off the thorns. Morgyn had taken the time to magically heal the wounds that left behind in the stem.

Unconsciously, as they walked, Morgyn's head rested against Caleb's shoulder.

"You sure don't do things half-assed," Morgyn said, turning the rose around in one hand.

Caleb smiled. "I try not to," he said. "At least, not things that matter to me."

Not things that mattered to him, huh? Morgyn found it hard to believe this was that important, but in hindsight, of course, Caleb always seemed to place Morgyn above a lot of things. The blond wondered why that was, and, like several other things by now, found it was something too scary to ask about.

"You had a good time, right?" Caleb asked, looking over at Morgyn.

The blond blinked once, and then smiled. "Of course I did. If nothing else, one of my favourite people was there."

Caleb smiled, looking away and back at the direction they were walking. "Maybe you'll be up to doing it again sometime?" Caleb asked.

"I would," Morgyn answered. "But maybe next time we should do something a little less fancy. … or I need to wear something besides heels."

Caleb laughed softly. "You look great in heels," he said.

"Yeah, but they're a little painful to walk on after a point," Morgyn said, stopping momentarily to raise one foot and move the ankle around. On second thought, though, they weren't at the restaurant anymore, the snow had finally melted away, though one couldn't call it _warm_ just yet, and it was just them. With that in mind, Morgyn tucked the rose behind one ear, reached down and pulled one shoe off, and then the other. They dangled from one hand by their straps, as Morgyn went back to walking alongside Caleb.

"Maybe we'll do something else next time anyway," Caleb said. "Like a movie or something like that."

"Oooh, movies could be fun," Morgyn said. "There's a new horror flick out that I've been wanting to see, I hear it's hilarious."

"Horror flick?" Caleb asked.

"What?" … Oh, right. "It's okay, you can cling to my arm if it makes you feel better."

Caleb made a face, and then shook his head and released a sigh. "If you're okay with it, I guess that's fine."

"We'll catch a rom-com another time to make up for it," Morgyn said, looking over at him as they walked.

"Fair trade then," Caleb decided, and the two walked in silence, just enjoying each other's company. That is, until Morgyn heard something.

It sounded like running water. And for some reason, that sounded like the best idea in the world. Maybe because Morgyn was impulsive, and everything sounded like the best idea in the world when it first came to mind. The blond grinned, let Caleb go, and took off running towards the sound of the water. Closer proximity revealed a set of sprinklers watering a darkened lawn, and Morgyn ran straight into it, squealing with a child-like delight that was probably very unbecoming, but hell, it was just Caleb and Morgyn cared what Caleb thought, but also wasn't _afraid_ of what Caleb thought.

"Morgyn, holy crap, it's freezing!" Caleb shouted.

"It is not!" Morgyn answered. "It's just cold!"

"That's not the point!"

"Come here, the water's great!" Morgyn cried, twirling around in circles on the tips of the blond's toes. The water from the grass and the sprinklers soaked into the blond's skirt and managed to pull the blouse down heavier around Morgyn's shoulders, sticking blond waves to pale skin, and for some reason, Morgyn was absolutely elated. Maybe because Caleb had _finally_ asked Morgyn out on a date, and Morgyn had said _yes_ , and it was probably the best date Morgyn had ever been on in the blond's _entire life_.

"I'm not going in there, this suit is expensive!" Caleb answered.

"I can fix it with magic, just come here!"

"No!"

"Fine," Morgyn decided, dropping the blond's heels in the grass, and then Morgyn went over to Caleb, grabbed his hands and pulled him towards the sprinklers.

"No, no, seriously!" Caleb protested, but he didn't have it in him to fight Morgyn too hard, and soon enough, he, too, was becoming quite soaked. He looked unamused, but then grinned at Morgyn.

"Oh no," Morgyn whispered, backing up.

Caleb kicked his shoes off next to Morgyn's, and then lunged at the blond.

"AAH!" Morgyn squealed, rocketing off across the grass.

Caleb almost fell over, but redirected just in time and took off after Morgyn, and there they were, centuries old idiots, chasing each other around a wet lawn in spring, and Morgyn couldn't say the blond didn't love every second of it. Morgyn had to redirect several times so Caleb didn't actually _catch_ the blond, he was faster than he looked like he should be (probably thanks to vampirism). Then, with a great roar and a lunge, Caleb caught Morgyn around the waist, and they both went _thunk_ into the wet grass.

Morgyn couldn't stop laughing. This was the most fun the blond had had in a long time now, and Morgyn shimmied around and tried to crawl out of Caleb's grasp, but his grip was too tight. Caleb reached up and took hold of the blond's wrists, and pinned Morgyn against the grass.

"Nooo! You got meeee!" Morgyn squeaked. "Someday, I'll figure out how to outrun you, I will!"

"Someday," Caleb answered, laughing. "But that day is not today."

Morgyn huffed, breathing hard, trying to figure out where the blond's ability to breathe had gone. Maybe it'd fallen off somewhere in the grass. Green eyes looked up and met grey. Caleb wasn't exactly _panting_ the same way, but he still seemed to be a bit short of breath. The moonlight made the water in his hair shimmer and sparkle, and just slightly, there was a glimmer of pale light in his eyes.

And even as Morgyn panted for air, the blond forgot how to breathe. Gods, sometimes Morgyn forgot how beautiful he was, and then he was hovering over the blond, soaked in sprinkler water in moonlight.

Morgyn stared for a moment, and then slipped one hand out from Caleb's grasp - the vampire didn't hold it - to reach up and brush against Caleb's cheek. And Morgyn would've sat up just enough that their lips met, but at the last second, Caleb turned away. Morgyn stopped, confused, and Caleb stood up. The vampire reached down to pull Morgyn back onto the blond's feet. The sprinklers stopped, and just like that, the moment was gone.

"It's one thirty," Caleb said softly. "I should get you home, or your brother might kill me."

"He was teasing," Morgyn said.

"I know," Caleb answered. "But I'm not a kiss on the first date kind of guy, and you're worth more than that." Caleb turned and then shuffled across the lawn, going to retrieve their shoes. And Morgyn smiled.


	8. Let the Rain Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay listen to me look, listen, I am so mad about this ending. Like. Okay this is just confirmation that Drazio are absolutely fucking… aks djkbfsjkd bfajksd bjaksd!!!!!!11 What did I do in my past life to deserve writing this shit? I’m just so fucking mad right now.
> 
> In hindsight though I’m not sure why because like I knew this. I did. It’s just. I dunno it’s just really frustrating I guess. Honestly every ship in this story is really frustrating because they’re all slow-burns and like, some of them are good slow-burns, like the kind that make you really get invested and the payoff is saweeet and then there are Drazio and Cagyn.
> 
> At least I’m getting places with Cagyn now and also with Eziandra which is sort of accidental. But apparently game-Cassandra is not very interested in Morgyn anymore now that Ezio exists anyway so like yeah okay.
> 
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  
> Come Clean, Hilary Duff
> 
> Also, yes. The 2.5 million homeless children estimate is a real-world number. America's, to be precise.

They'd agreed to meet up around noon, so there wasn't a lot of rushing to do, but for some reason, Ezio was already awake and rummaging through his dresser. Mayor was laying on top of the wood, occasionally reaching a paw into the drawer because _obviously_ , Ezio was playing with the clothes in the drawers specifically so that Mayor could play with them. Of course Ezio did. What other reason could he _possibly_ have?

Today, of course, was Saturday, and he had a not-date at a coffee shop. It was not a date. So there was no sense in being nervous, because it wasn't a date. Ezio didn't _date_ anymore. Jackson was the last one he'd dated, and they'd broken up back in 1984 (weird that he remembered the year). That was a long time ago, and Ezio had stuck to what he'd said then and hadn't gone out with anyone else ever since, not really thought about it, hadn't gotten a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter. Ezio had Morgyn, and Drake, and as far as he was concerned, they were all he needed.

Of course, he said that, and from time to time, it felt like a lie he'd gotten accustomed to telling himself.

The funny part of this was that, when it was Morgyn, Ezio had all the answers. He knew exactly how to do Morgyn's makeup and what to hand the blond to wear, but when it was himself, he was doing _this_. Rummaging through the dresser, pulling random articles of clothing he _probably_ hadn't seen since the 80s or 90s, holding them up in front of himself and making faces at the floor mirror before tossing whatever it was across the room. Lather, rinse, repeat.

By now, Ezio would hold something up in front of himself, stare at the mirror, and then toss it, and Mayor would go bolting after it. Ezio smirked a little, tossing a shirt that way. It landed on Mayor's head, and the cat loosed an _awfully_ offended noise, fell over onto the floor under it, and kicked it off. What a silly creature he was sometimes. But that was also part of what had made Ezio like him. Ezio sat down on the floor, holding his hand out. Mayor immediately came over to him and bumped into his hand affectionately.

For all that he wasn't much for this having a human thing, Mayor had adjusted to it relatively easily. Ezio smiled slightly, reaching down with the other hand and pulling the cat into his lap. Then, he held up his hands and started playing with him. Eventually, Mayor would manage to scratch him and cause tangible damage, and the game would stop, Ezio would go out into the living room, Drake would make a fuss and insist on coating it in antibacterial ointment and a bandaid, and Ezio would roll his eyes when Drake wasn't looking but go along with it. It was always like that. Every little thing that hurt him, Drake seemed to have a weird interest in destroying in any way he could. Since he couldn't necessarily destroy Ezio's _cat_ , apparently antibacterial ointment and bandaids would have to do.

Ezio could _probably_ use to be a little more careful and not get hurt enough to warrant Drake's reactions to it, but Ezio _was_ still an Ember.

_What are you so afraid of, Ezio?_

It really was more complicated than that. Ezio released a sigh, lowering his hands. Mayor pounced one, and Ezio loosed an airy laugh, hugging the silly cat, and then let him go. Mayor ran off across the room, chasing the shadows, and Ezio wondered how it was he was supposed to explain that he was afraid of living. Maybe that wasn't right. He was afraid of _wanting_ to live. Because he already knew what it was to want something, with everything you were, and be denied it. Every so often, he wanted to live, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his entire life. And wanting that _hurt_ , because in wanting it, he also knew he couldn't have it, so what was the point?

There were a lot of things that Ezio wanted and he couldn't have. He was getting used to it now. And he knew that Morgyn meant well, but where exactly did the blond get off, questioning what Ezio wanted and said were his dreams? Maybe it _seemed_ like something shallow and silly, something that'd just come to mind, like something he was chasing only for the money, but there were other reasons. The two and a half _million_ kids out there on the street with nowhere else to go, maybe they were part of his motivations.

The chances of someone ever living through what Jean put him through were slim. But maybe not as slim as he'd like to say. And that chance, the chance that somewhere out there was another kid living through something very similar to what he had, that was why he was fighting for this. Because hell if he hadn't wanted _someone_ to fight for him, more than he'd ever wanted anything back then.

And something, the universe, Watcher, whatever, had given him Drake. Maybe that was why Ezio didn't feel like he was _allowed_ to love Drake. Because he still felt like he didn't deserve him. Like somehow falling in love with him had been a terrible thing to do, and yet in hindsight, it was the only logical outcome all the same. Of course Ezio loved him. Drake was the first person that wasn't Morgyn to see _him_ , and not the boy that looks like Rose.

Ezio released a sigh, watching Mayor scamper around his room. The cat was silly, but of course he was. He always had been, at least as long as Ezio had known him. Ezio smiled. "Hey Mayor," he said. "What do you think I should wear?"

The cat didn't pay much mind to him at first, his butt going over his head into a pile of rejected shirts, but then he sat up, grabbed one particular shirt in his teeth and dragged it across the floor. He normally wasn't like that, so Ezio moved around, reached out and took the shirt. Mayor, strangely, didn't try to keep it. Ezio held it up, and then tilted his head.

"You know this shirt doesn't usually stay on me very well," he said, looking down at the cat, but Mayor, of course, was already playing with something else. As he rolled around on the floor, his little paws smacked into something and made a loud metallic jingling sound. Mayor didn't seem to mind it, but Ezio was drawn to what had made the noise. A couple of belts.

Just long enough to keep this shirt from falling off him, Ezio would bet.

* * *

The debate about his makeup was almost just for show. To make himself _feel_ like he was having a proper debate about it, before he went and wore the exact same makeup as he always did, because, of course. He wouldn't want to _actually_ change anything, that'd almost be too much. Ezio pursed his lips, and then washed it all off yet again. He _was_ actually _attempting_ some alternative looks, but mostly he was only succeeding in remembering _why_ this was his default. It was carefully curated and crafted to set off his eyes, as it turned out. He knew what his best asset was, and he knew what made his eyes pop. In combination, there were times when Ezio blended into the crowd, and other times when no one seemed to be able to quit staring.

Morgyn was _almost_ much the same. Almost, because Morgyn's appearance was specifically cultivated so that no one could _ever_ look away. Morgyn liked the attention, Ezio figured. Ezio didn't _mind_ it, most of the time. But there were still times when it made his nerves notably restless. He didn't _like_ being attractive. He'd rather be one of those average looking guys, the ones that weren't terribly _unattractive_ , but didn't turn heads, either.

Of course, it did occur to him, that his favourite colour was not, in fact, black or grey, it was _purple_ , and he never did wear purple, did he? He wondered if maybe he should endeavour to change that, but Ezio wasn't sure what he'd _look like_ in purple, for starters. Maybe it didn't look terribly good on him. Or maybe purple was to him what red was to Morgyn. He shouldn't be experimenting for this of all things. He should stick to tried and true methods and colours, because at least that way, his chances of messing this up were really slim.

It wasn't a date though. It definitely wasn't.

"Ezio do you know where -" came Morgyn's voice from the other side of the door, and then Morgyn stopped.

It wasn't as if Ezio had closed the door, so when he turned to look at the blond, he tried not to look _annoyed_.

Morgyn paused for a moment, there, staring. "What are you doing?" Morgyn asked.

Ezio snorted. "My makeup, what's it look like?" he asked.

"Well yeah, but, why?"

Did Ezio have to have a reason to do his makeup? Maybe he did. If nothing else, it wasn't like Ezio spent a lot of time on it when it was just them and the only place he had to go that day was class. It wasn't like this kind of thing normally _mattered_ much, and it was obvious in how Ezio treated it. He supposed then, the question was warranted.

"I'm going out in an hour or so," he said, and then went back to fiddling with his lipstick. He'd worn this particular black shade multiple times already, it seemed fairly silly to act like it wasn't going to be good enough for this, but maybe he cared a little more about it this time.

"Oh, yeah?" Morgyn asked. "Where to? Can I come?"

"You probably shouldn't," Ezio answered. "I'm headed to Magnolia Promenade to meet with a friend."

"A friend," Morgyn repeated. "Like a friend-friend or a _friend_ -friend?"

Ezio blinked at the mirror, and then glanced over one shoulder at Morgyn. " _What_?" he asked.

"You _know_ what," Morgyn answered, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Is this _that_ kind of an outing?"

Ezio rolled his eyes, turning back to the mirror. "We're just friends," he said. "I helped her out of a sticky legal situation a bit back, ghosts might've been involved, whatever, here we are, we're friends. Sometimes I buy her paintings."

"You buy her art?" Morgyn asked. "Wait this is a _girl_?"

"Yes?" Ezio asked, eyebrows raising.

"Sorry, you're usually into boys, that's all," Morgyn answered, shuffling around to sit on the toilet lid. "So, what's she like?"

"Don't get excited," Ezio said, shaking his head. "It won't lead to anything."

"How do you know?" Morgyn asked. "Maybe this is the breakthrough you've been waiting for."

Ezio slid the lipstick lid back on, tossing the stick onto the sink, and stared at the faucet for a moment. He still remembered the first time he saw her. Of course he did, it was surprising and probably borne of sleep deprivation and stress. Somewhere amid trying to resurrect Morgyn's stupid ass after the blond had gotten murdered by overload potion (which, for the record, _still_ shouldn't have been a thing!), Drake had turned into Cassandra. Of course, Ezio didn't know her name, then. That was a good thirty something years ago, even, she probably hadn't even been _born_ yet, and her parents were probably very young.

That was _weird_ , wasn't it? If he and Cassandra started actually _dating_ , because Ezio had been alive longer than her parents. Grandparents. Shit, who knew how many generations of her family line had passed by in his lifetime? It was hard to say. Ezio preferred not to think about it. Then, with that standard, he shouldn't _ever_ date _anyone_ , which was fine by him, anyway.

"Eeeeeziooooo," Morgyn said.

"What? Sorry," Ezio answered, shaking his head and reaching for his eyeliner.

"Do you like this girl?" Morgyn asked.

Ezio glanced at the blond, his lips flattening into a line. "It doesn't matter if I do or not," he said. "I said it's not going to go anywhere." Cassandra deserved better than him. Cassandra _Goth_ sure as hell did. And if she ever happened to start dating someone that _wasn't_ better than him, Ezio may or may not have to fight with a very strong, sudden urge to deck someone. Martial artists mastered fighting so that they never had to fight, but Ezio might actually have to decide to fight a bitch. (Sorry, Sifu Glenn.)

"Maybe that's the problem, then," Morgyn said softly. "You've gotten so used to thinking that it doesn't matter what you think or you want that you can't recognise it when you do have something you want."

Ezio released a sigh, hands resting on the sink as he turned to look at the blond. "Why are you trying to make sense of me?" he asked.

"I'm trying to _help_ ," Morgyn said. "But I can't help you if you don't let me in and I don't understand anything any more than you do."

"I don't need help," Ezio answered, hands raising off the sink to get his eyeliner as impeccable as always. "What I need is to get my eyeliner done, and not be late." Who cared if things were a little more complicated than he let on, if he felt like he was drowning half the time, if somewhere behind the smile he always had for everyone else was a lot of pain and confusion, because it wasn't like anyone had bothered with it all _before_. He was used to it.

He was afraid to die, and he was afraid to live, and the end result was, he didn't do either.

"Ezio," Morgyn said softly, staring at the blond's lap. "It's okay not to be okay."

Ezio released a sigh, tossing the eyeliner pencil onto the sink. It was quiet, for a long moment, Ezio leaning against the sink, Morgyn watching him silently. "I don't know what it is that you're looking for, when you get onto these things," he said.

Morgyn was quiet, for a moment or two longer, and then drew a breath in. "What happened in France, Ezio?"

Of course. Morgyn seemed to think there were things about France and what had happened at that time that Ezio needed to talk about. Ezio wouldn't admit it, but the idiot was probably right. It wasn't like Ezio knew where to start, but he also knew that not talking to Morgyn about it had felt like Ezio had deliberately blocked Morgyn out. In a sense, he had, yes. Because there were things about France that _Ezio_ could barely stomach half the time. Ezio didn't expect Morgyn could any better than he could.

"Don't worry about France," Ezio said.

Ezio could tell, Morgyn didn't like that answer, by the way the blond tensed up. Then the tension went away, almost as fast as it'd built. "Okay," Morgyn answered, and then stood up and left.

Ezio released a sigh. The blond would ask again, sooner or later. Morgyn always did.

* * *

He was early, because of course he was. Ezio was always early, but one could argue that someone like him was never late or early, anyway, and it was everyone else that had issues with telling time. (Nope, Ezio never had any more of an idea what day it fucking was than anyone else did.) Ezio had shuffled over to one of the low fences, resting against it and waiting. She'd get here presumably on time, and the extra waiting he had to do was no one's fault but his own.

Morgyn was getting insufferable, though. The blond always did eventually. Most of the time, Ezio missed Morgyn when they were apart. But for just a few days, after Morgyn had left, Ezio kind of felt relieved about it. Morgyn meant well, Ezio knew that. Ezio was also quite aware that the path to hell was paved in good intentions.

While he waited, he'd decided to pull out his phone, and he was playing a crossword game. It was probably a better idea than being bored the entire time he was waiting, and he didn't want to make Cassandra feel bad for making him wait (it was his fault, after all). Somewhere along the way between level 19 and 20, a shadow fell over him, and he looked up to find Cassandra moving around him to sit on the fence too.

"Hey," he said, immediately turning his phone off and dropping it into a pocket.

"You didn't have to stop," Cassandra said.

"Well, you're here," he answered. "And I have to admit, I think you make better company than a phone game." The shimmer of her necklace caught his eye first, a snowflake it looked like (how amusing), but she was wearing a deep purple shirt, and Ezio was almost immediately taken with it. Not only was that a beautiful shade, she looked stunning in it.

"I try to be," Cassandra said, smiling softly. "So, where were we going?"

"Oh, just over here," Ezio answered, turning and leading the way down the street. One hand slid into a pocket, and strangely, suddenly her hand was in there, too. Wasn't that weird? Maybe it wasn't weird to other people. The difficult thing about being so old was, Ezio had very minimal idea of what was socially acceptable and what was not. Was she being weird? Was she not being weird at all? Like fuck could he tell the difference.

Like fuck did he _care_ about the difference, either. Weirdly, there was something about her that made all of his nerves calm back down. Unconsciously, he squeezed her hand in his, strangely in his pocket as it was, and smiled slightly. She turned just a little bit pink, and looked away. Maybe she did think it was a date. Maybe he didn't care if she did.

Neither of them said anything else, and wordlessly separated as they reached a seat at the little cafe on the corner. It was small, quaint, and smelled strongly of baked bread, it reminded him of the little bakery cafe on the corner when he was a kid. Those people were very nice people, and he hoped they'd lived well. He'd never know. He slid into his seat, she took her hand back and settled down into hers.

"How's your week been?" he asked, reaching across the walkway to take a couple menus and set one in front of her.

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at him. "Oh! Oh, uh, I stole - sold! Sold a couple more paintings."

Ezio laughed. "I hope if you should happen to steal anything, you won't tell _me_ about it."

Cassandra loosed a soft snort of amusement, and Ezio's heart almost leapt into his throat at the sound.

"Sorry, my jokes aren't very funny," he said.

"No, I like them," Cassandra said. "I just, I don't know how to make jokes, myself. My parents' sense of humour is… unique. Mine is too."

"I see," Ezio answered. "Dry humour?"

"More like, very weird and sometimes slightly morbid," Cassandra answered.

"I'm sure mine's a little weird sometimes, too," Ezio said. "Any idea what you'd like?"

"Yeah, just a latte," Cassandra answered. "Somehow the idea of you being morbid and weird is cute."

Ezio snorted. "We'll see if you still feel that way later," he answered. "I'll be right back then." Ezio stood up, taking the menus with him, and went to go order. As usual, it was a bit of a wait for their drinks to be made, but Ezio didn't get anything complicated, either, and soon enough, he made his way back to the table, setting Cassandra's latte down in front of her, and then settling across from her.

"Thank you," Cassandra murmured, reaching over and wrapping her hands around the cup.

"You're welcome," Ezio answered. "There's flavouring syrups over there if you want some," he said, gesturing with one hand over his shoulder.

Cassandra smiled slightly. "I think it's just fine how it is," she said, reaching up with one hand to push her glasses up her nose, and then she reached back down for her cup. Then she unleashed a squeak, as her cup fell over, and the latte splashed out of the cup.

Instinctively, Ezio let go of his own cup and held his hands out. Hers stopped mid-fall, the liquid suspending in the air.

Cassandra's eyes widened, staring at what he'd just done.

This one was going to be fun to try explaining later. Instead, Ezio smiled slightly, and moved his hands, magically nudging the latte back into the cup and setting it upright. For a long moment, Cassandra didn't say anything at all.

"… What did you do?" she eventually asked.

"It's a long story," Ezio answered. And it really was. Except, maybe it wasn't really that long of a story at all. It was quite simple. Magic. He'd done magic. Cassandra apparently decided not to ask anything else, because instead, she reached out and touched the cup with one finger, like it might bite her, and then picked it up. Her hand was still shaking, though.

And then Ezio remembered that people started to shake like that when they hadn't eaten. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"What? I'm fine," Cassandra answered in a rush.

"Have you eaten today?" he asked, eyebrows drawing together in concern.

Cassandra looked up at him, and it seemed like she wanted to say something, but then she just shrugged one shoulder.

He was going to go with, probably not. Ezio released a sigh. "Magic," he said. "What I did. It was magic."

Cassandra tilted her head slightly. "So… you're like, a wizard?" she asked.

Ezio wrinkled his nose. "We're called spellcasters anymore," he said. "But I prefer the term witch."

"That's actually really cool," Cassandra said.

"You're not weirded out?" Ezio asked.

Cassandra snorted. "I mean I've never seen _that_ exactly, but my grandmother was _capable_ of it, I know that. My mother talks to things that aren't there. I'm pretty sure the house I grew up in was absolutely haunted."

Ezio huffed. "Well, come on," he said, standing up.

"What?" Cassandra asked.

"Apparently you need to eat," Ezio said. "I know just the place."

* * *

"I used to come here all the time," Ezio said, leading the way over to one of the food stalls in San Myshuno. Normally, he'd insist on something a little classier, and maybe a bit _healthier_ because this certainly didn't count as _healthy_ , necessarily, but it could be worse, for starters. They were in _Uptown_ for fuck's sake, they were a little better than some of the greasier options in the Spice Market for instance, and besides, Cassandra was a little on a skinny side. She could tolerate a couple greasy taquitos.

"You'll love their ramen," he said, turning around and walking backwards. "The dango's not bad either, and the nigiri probably won't kill you, and the pufferfish nigiri _also_ probably won't kill you, but you never know."

Cassandra giggled softly, following him.

She seemed curious about magic, but hadn't bombarded him with questions he didn't want to give her the answers to, either. He was glad for that. Getting into the semantics of magic and magic realm, and the differences between a witch and a warlock and a spellcaster and a mage (there weren't any), that didn't really sound like something he wanted to do right now. Of course, he knew, probably better than she did, that magic was in her blood, and sooner or later, she'd have to face that reality.

But if he could keep her from it, just a little bit longer… there were things in the magical world that were dangerous, maybe a little more dangerous than he'd like her to be around. He'd discovered, quite some time ago, really, that she was young, and naive, and he'd like her to stay that way, and he would help that along if he could do so.

Ezio turned back around, ordering some ramen, and then stepped aside.

Cassandra smiled and ordered the same thing. It was the cheapest thing on the menu, as it happened, so Ezio was glad for that, but he didn't say that. Cassandra hadn't known him out there on the streets, and he didn't intend to tell her anything about it, or that buying her paintings was occasionally not a very financially sound decision. But they were beautiful, just like she was, and he couldn't help wanting them. He'd say something about just like how he wanted her, but he didn't want her. He wanted better for her, actually. Ezio wanted her to find someone that understood her, moved at the same speed as she did, that knew what she meant and needed even when she didn't say the words.

He could _be_ that someone, Ezio knew that. He just had no intention of it. This was only as friends. Because she was her, and he'd broken a long time ago, and she deserved better than dealing with the pieces of who he'd once been.

The stall vendor handed them their bowls, and chopsticks. Ezio turned around, shuffling over to one of the tables nearby. Cassandra looked quite perplexed at the chopsticks.

"How do you eat with these?" she asked, settling down at the table across from Ezio.

Ezio smiled, holding his up for her to see. "This stick goes here, and this one goes here," he explained. "You want them angled so that when you move your fingers, they do this."

"Oh," Cassandra murmured, looking at her own sticks.

"I find it helps to tap the ends against an even surface," Ezio said. "That way the tips are aligned and it's easier to grip things with them. See?" Ezio tapped his against the bottom of his bowl, and then pulled out a wad of noodles.

"Wow, you're really good at this," Cassandra said, looking rather impressed. Then, she attempted to copy what he did. She didn't quite get it the first time, but Ezio had seen far less graceful attempts.

"It took a lot of practice," Ezio said. He reached over, gently repositioned her chopsticks, and then let go.

Cassandra moved one of her fingers, and then attempted eating her ramen that way. That time, she had a little more success than before.

Ezio smiled. "You'll get the hang of it eventually, but I think at the moment that's a pretty solid start."

"Yeah?" Cassandra asked, trying not to drop any of the noodles.

Ezio nodded. "Yeah."

"Ezio?" a voice sounded from one side.

Ezio turned towards it, and was met with a very familiar, if slightly older, face. "Jackson," he said, and breathed out. "Wow, I-"

"I thought it was you," Jackson said, smiling. "Wow, time has really treated you well, huh?"

Ezio couldn't help the slight flush that spread across his cheeks, and he glanced down at the stone under them.

"Sorry," Jackson said. "I couldn't help it. You look really good."

"Thank you," Ezio answered. He glanced at Cassandra, but she was across the table being very busy fighting with her ramen. Of course, he had a feeling she wasn't so absorbed in that as she seemed. "This is Cassandra," Ezio said. "My date."

Cassandra squeaked and coughed a couple times.

Maybe he should've warned her before he said that. Hmm.

"Nice to meet you," Jackson said. "This one's a good one. Keep him."

Wait, did he really think that? After all this time, it was weird to hear something like that out of Jackson of all people. Ezio wasn't sure how he felt about it, or if he even _should_ feel something about it. Certainly, Morgyn wouldn't be too happy with him getting all flustered about _Jackson_ like it was the eighties all over again. But Ezio never gave his heart easily, and neither did he take it back so easily.

"I'm going to try," Cassandra said.

Ezio looked over at her, mostly out of surprise. She smiled at him. His heart tried to do a cartwheel.

"Right, well, um, it was really nice seeing you," Jackson said. "And I'm glad you're doing okay. And… for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Ezio answered, looking up at him. "I'm sorry too."

"I should go, so, um. I may see you around, if not, then… yeah. I hope life stays good to you. And good luck with keeping him."

Jackson turned, and walked away. And Ezio released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding.

"Who was that?" Cassandra asked.

"The last man that ever broke my heart," Ezio answered.

Cassandra didn't say anything. They ate in silence, for a bit, and then Cassandra's hand reached across the table, and her fingers threaded through Ezio's. And nothing had ever felt _right_ so quickly until the moment she took his hand. He could feel it, under her skin, the magic that ran in her veins. Her magic pulse called to his.

"Do you really want to keep me?" he asked quietly.

Cassandra flushed slightly, and then nodded.

"Why?" Ezio asked. "I'm not…" Well, he wasn't a _lot_ of things, where did he even start?

"You hate yourself really loudly," Cassandra said. "I guess I want to be one of the voices that doesn't hate you. And… maybe somewhere along the way, I can help you learn how to stop hating yourself."

Ezio stared at her, for a moment. There were people that had tried to teach him that, before. What was most interesting to him, though, was how quickly she'd heard it. That quiet little voice, drowned out by his laughter, whispering that he wasn't okay at all. How did she hear it so easily?

Maybe she had the same voice.

* * *

Sometimes, it was nice to be lacking makeup. Ezio snorted softly to himself, at the thought, rubbed the water from his eyes, and dropped the towel over his head to get the water out of his hair. Drake was home, after a long and apparently annoying discussion with his editors. Morgyn seemed to be across the hallway, over there with Caleb, but then Ezio didn't really expect much else, and it was _probably_ for the best.

If Ezio had come home after that and had to deal with Morgyn asking a thousand nonsensical questions, then he might've actually gone nuts.

He'd gotten Cassandra home, and then come back to his shoddy apartment where pufferfish nigiri was apparently invented, and immediately tossed himself in the shower. Sometimes it was easier to get all of his makeup and stuff off if he just got in the shower. Fortunately, tomorrow was Sunday, so he could spend the day relaxing and trying to take his mind off classes for a little bit.

Quickly, he got himself dry, and his clothes on, then toddled out into the living room and fell heavily onto the couch beside Drake. The vampire glanced over at him.

"Long day?" he asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Ezio said. For a moment, he debated telling Drake about running into Jackson, but then decided that he should probably keep it to himself. Drake tended to worry about… um, a lot of things, but mostly Ezio, and any indication that there may be a threat to Ezio's peace of mind and emotional stability might set his paranoia off. Ezio didn't really want that. "Went out for coffee with a friend, but Morgyn was all excited about it."

Drake snorted softly. "Yeah, I bet."

"I've gone out for coffee with friends before," Ezio said. "I don't get why Morgyn got excited about it _this_ time."

"Well, you know Morgyn wants you to be happy," Drake answered. "And with you two living apart now, it's harder for Morgyn to tell what's important in your life and what isn't, I think. I don't know, maybe it's a little of Morgyn wanting to feel as connected to you as you two were before. A lot of things have changed in the last year. _You've_ certainly changed."

"No I haven't," Ezio said. And he hadn't. He just _seemed_ different because the rest of the world had changed, that was all.

Drake gave him something of a flat look. "Ezio, you are _not_ the same person that left magic realm twenty years ago," he said. "That's part of why I decided to move out here."

"Is it?" Ezio asked. That was news to him, but then they didn't really talk about that a lot. There were plenty of things they didn't talk about, actually. Maybe too many things, now that he was thinking about it. There were a great many unspoken things between them, and sometimes Ezio didn't know _why_ they were unspoken, save for Ezio never knew the right words to use, how to broach the subjects that needed to be broached, and maybe Drake didn't either. And in the end, nothing was said at all about the things that mattered the most.

"Yeah," Drake said. "I didn't want to lose you."

What? Ezio looked confused, and then tilted his head to one side. "You wouldn't have," Ezio said. He didn't really _know_ that, of course. Hard to say what might've happened if someone had shot him in the right place, but of course, there was a reason Ezio didn't tell either him or Morgyn about _that_.

"I was," Drake answered. "I was losing you. You were becoming someone I didn't know anymore, and I didn't know what to do with that. It just scared me."

Ezio's gaze softened, and without thinking about it, he moved around and laid his head in Drake's lap. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Why are you sorry?" Drake asked. If he felt anything about Ezio suddenly lying in his lap, he had the grace not to say anything.

Ezio shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "Sometimes it just kind of feels like we're drifting apart, and then it doesn't feel like that anymore."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Drake said.

"Morgyn keeps telling me that I should be happy, and not just not unhappy," Ezio said quietly. "We keep getting into mild disagreements about it. I don't know that I'm Morgyn's definition of happy, but maybe I'm mine."

Drake was quiet, for a moment. Ezio was, too, waiting to see what he'd say. Drake was one of those people that was really quiet, like Ezio was. And when he finally decided to say something, it was usually with thought and consideration. Neither of them were like Morgyn, who tended to spout off at the mouth without thinking about it. Ezio didn't like throwing words out without thinking, because it caused a lot of pain sometimes, and words were things you couldn't take back.

"Well, maybe Morgyn is right, and you can be happier," Drake said. "But it doesn't mean that your idea of happiness is wrong, either. Maybe that's all it is, then. You just have different ideas of what happy means. I guess Morgyn hasn't figured that part out just yet."

"I don't need anyone but you to be happy anyway," Ezio said. And then, he realised what he just said. Hadn't he _just_ been thinking something about how he didn't spout off at the mouth? "You guys," he said. "You and Morgyn are all I need."

If Drake noticed that slip up, he again had the grace not to say anything. But, very gently, Drake reached over with one hand and ran his fingers through Ezio's hair. And Ezio remembered how much he loved it when people did that. Nowadays, since Morgyn wasn't here very often, no one really did anymore. Drake was almost afraid to touch him, it seemed like, and all things considered, after everything they'd been through together, he _probably was_. No one else had the nerve, and no one else would be able to without perhaps Ezio freezing their hand. He didn't _like_ being touched.

Well, he didn't like people that weren't Morgyn, Drake, and apparently, Cassandra, touching him, he should say.

Annoyingly, it was calming, and he was already tired, not just from the long day and dealing with Morgyn that morning, but from his medications, which he'd taken earlier. And, it was nine. Ezio was _always_ going to bed by nine. He sat there, blearily staring at the laptop screen, but not seeing it, and then his eyes slid closed.

"I like her, Drake," Ezio said, very softly. "I don't want to like her."

"Why?" Drake asked.

"She's too good for me," Ezio answered. "Just like you are."


	9. I Just Want to Feel Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Face Up, Lights

When Ezio woke up, he was still lying partially in Drake's lap, using his leg as a pillow. Ezio blinked up at him, a bit confused, but Drake had apparently just gone on writing whatever it was he was working on this time. Here and there, Ezio would read the books Drake published, and he tried to be covert about it. It seemed like something that might be embarrassing for him, because Drake was strange that way, but Ezio found it kind of adorable.

He'd asked Cassandra, of course, why she wanted to keep him, but then when he thought to himself about why he'd been so insistent on keeping Drake, he had no answers. The words didn't want to formulate in a manner that made any sense, and really, Ezio didn't care if they did or not. When he imagined the future, there was Morgyn, and there was Drake, and Ezio never had a reason to question that. Maybe that meant they'd become more of a habit than anything, something that was and they simply didn't question it. Maybe that wasn't any better than some of the less impressive reasons for staying together he'd ever heard.

Things changed, though. There was something about what she'd said that bothered him, in hindsight, but just like how Morgyn bringing up all his problems set his nerves on edge for reasons that he couldn't put words to, Ezio couldn't figure out what it was, exactly, about her answer that bothered him. And maybe it didn't matter, and he was just being stupid about it. What _was_ so wrong with him that he couldn't just be happy for once?

Because he wasn't really happy, right?

Ezio released a sigh, his hair moving with his breath. Drake looked down at him. "Good morning," he said quietly.

Ezio smiled slightly. "Morning," he answered, trying not to talk too loudly. It wasn't like it really bothered _Ezio_ , but Drake's senses were a bit stronger than his weak little human ones. Ezio always wondered, somewhere in the back of his head, what it'd be like to be a vampire and have stronger senses. Was it that different? It made logical sense to him, that eventually you'd get used to it, and it'd become normal to you. Or maybe he was thinking about it in the wrong way.

Ahh, what was it that he'd thought just before he passed out? Right, he didn't want to like Cassandra, because she was too good for him, like Drake was. Strange thing to think about. But he'd always felt that way. Drake was the literal answer to his prayers, more or less, and even if it'd taken some time, Drake _had_ gotten him out of France. Ezio owed him his life many times over. Ezio himself wasn't enough to repay that with.

But, from time to time, he wondered. What things would be like, if he told Drake how he felt. By now, he had to know. It wasn't like Ezio wasn't _really obvious_ sometimes, at least, if you knew how to read him, and Drake always had. Communicating with Ezio seemed to be a matter of understanding what he didn't say as well as what he did say, because he spoke without using words sometimes.

Ezio rolled over slightly, still resting against Drake's leg, to blink at his laptop. It was seven in the morning. Well, it was Sunday, there was no rush in getting out of bed anyway. He did have to wonder if Morgyn had come home last night at any point, or if the blond had stayed with Caleb.

"Is Morgyn back yet?" Ezio asked, grey eyes glancing up at Drake.

"Not yet," Drake answered. "I imagine Morgyn probably fell asleep over there and Caleb just let it alone."

Ezio released a snort, smiling slightly. "Yeah, probably. It's nice that they're dating finally." They'd only been all but undressing each other with looks for literal centuries, but hey, what the fuck did Ezio know? "Morgyn asked again," he said.

Drake looked down at him again, and back to the laptop screen. "About France?" he asked.

"About France," Ezio said, with a heavy sigh. "This is getting ridiculous."

Drake made a noise, and then leaned back in his seat. "Morgyn probably already knows what happened, if he thinks about it."

Ezio glanced up at Drake, and then shrugged and laid his head back down. Maybe. Probably, even, because Morgyn wasn't stupid, just liked to pretend otherwise, particularly when it came to what happened in France. Ezio didn't like thinking about it. He didn't know where to start even if he _wanted_ to talk about it, and sometimes he did. Other times, he'd much rather pretend that part of his life had never happened.

There were times when he couldn't remember enough of it to believe that it ever had happened anyway. And then, he woke up screaming and for just a few seconds he was sixteen all over again, and there went that. He remembered. He remembered just fine. Ezio just wished he didn't.

"I don't think it's the thing itself that matters," Ezio said. "I don't think Morgyn really wants to understand it. It seems like Morgyn just wants to make it go away." Well, Ezio would be the first one to admit it, yeah, it was pretty damned inconvenient, so he understood why Morgyn didn't like any of it. Ezio didn't, either. It just wasn't that simple, that was all. Even now, he _still_ didn't know how to deal with it, so, he didn't. He didn't talk about it, he didn't even try. He didn't shuffle through it in his head because where did he start? It wasn't like there were guidebooks for this kind of thing (or maybe there were and Ezio just didn't know what side of the bookstore that'd be on).

If he thought about it, he knew he had to deal with it eventually, he couldn't just _ignore_ it forever, but he was supposed to die ten years ago. Obviously that hadn't happened, and now here he was, living a life he didn't know how to, a life he wasn't even _supposed_ to have. Where was the end of it? Did he want to start trying to make changes and adjustments, try and _heal_ a little, only for it all to be ripped out from under him? Then, he knew that dying with regrets wouldn't be a good idea either.

Morgyn made it sound so easy, but when Ezio stared at this gigantic _mountain_ of things that he hadn't dealt with, it felt insurmountable and overwhelming. And he decided, he'd rather stay down here, and not even try to get up there. At least he knew how things worked, down here. He knew who he was. Maybe he'd become someone else, if he ever got up there on top of that mountain of things to deal with.

Morgyn didn't really understand. All the same, it wasn't like Ezio had tried to explain anything, either. Well, no. He used to try, back when the memories were fresh and new, and so much more painful than they were now.

There was a reason Ezio hated Aine, after all. The person she almost turned Morgyn into, that was a good place to start on figuring out why.

"But I don't think it's something that can just be made to go away," Ezio said. There were scars in him that were probably never going to fade.

Drake released a breath. "I see." Drake went quiet for a moment, and then he tilted his head. "Maybe you should try and tell Morgyn that."

Of course he should. He wasn't going to get anywhere complaining to _Drake_ , he knew that. Ezio had always known that it was Morgyn that he needed to make understand this. Drake couldn't make Morgyn do or not do anything, any more than Ezio could. "I know that," Ezio said, and huffed. "It's just harder to talk to Morgyn about it, and be _honest_. I think Morgyn's the only one I lie to now."

Drake tilted his head. Ezio sat up, and started folding the blanket.

"Morgyn's the one I'm afraid of losing the most, though. And sometimes, honesty's just too much."

* * *

Ezio made tea, blissfully silently, as Morgyn was still across the hall, but the blond, as Ezio suspected, didn't stay there. Drake had needed to go out for something, so it was just him for a bit, and Ezio was enjoying the quiet.

As Ezio settled down at the dining room table with a glass of hot tea, and a book he'd read probably a thousand times already (they were like old friends, weren't they, well-loved books?), Morgyn wandered in the door. Ezio looked up at the blond, and Morgyn wordlessly went for the coffee pot. Ezio didn't say anything right away. Morgyn was probably not all there in the head anyway, and Ezio didn't need to go making it worse.

Eventually, after the coffee had brewed, and Morgyn had made a cup, the blond shuffled over to the table and settled down across from Ezio. Ezio offered a smile, intending to go back to reading his book until Morgyn had woken up to some extent, but then Morgyn said something.

"Caleb said hi, by the way," Morgyn said.

"Ah, well, tell him I said hi back," Ezio answered. "Or I will whenever we run into each other in the hallway next. How are you guys doing, anyway?"

"Fine enough," Morgyn said, pausing to drink some of the blond's coffee, and set the cup back down on the table with a soft tap. "He's really sweet, though. I guess it's a good thing but mostly it just leaves me feeling a little befuddled."

"Your date went okay then?" Ezio asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn answered. "He uh. Apparently isn't a kiss on the first date kind of guy, so he says."

Ezio loosed a snort. Considering what kind of a person Caleb was, Ezio could believe that explanation. He probably wasn't. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you had a good time." It wasn't like Ezio was concerned. This was Caleb, and Ezio didn't trust Morgyn to anyone more than Caleb. Of course, saying that outright _probably_ wasn't a good idea. He didn't need Morgyn overthinking it or asking dumb questions. Ezio didn't want to have to think about it too much more either. It was kind of depressing, but the point was, Ezio trusted Caleb, especially with Morgyn.

Hey, Caleb had a nice track record of easily getting the idiot to eat real food. That was a very good track record to have.

"Thanks," Morgyn answered softly. The blond seemed to debate something for a moment, and then Morgyn's hands tightened around the coffee cup. "How did your um… your not-date go?"

Ezio snorted. It'd figure Morgyn would ask that, and it would figure Morgyn would ask that in such an uncertain manner. It wasn't like Ezio didn't _want_ to share things that happened in his life with Morgyn. Morgyn was his _twin_ , of course he did. He just… ugh, and Ezio had no idea what was wrong, and _why_ certain things Morgyn asked and said made him fluff up like a pissy cat. Well, that was something for _him_ to figure out, wasn't it?

"It went," Ezio said. "We had coffee, and she spilled her latte, and I did magic."

"Oh no," Morgyn said, gasping softly. "What happened, did she freak out?"

"No," Ezio answered. "No freaking out or anything, it was just slightly tense for a moment. Then I decided to drag her back here to San My for a very impromptu meal, because I realised she probably hadn't eaten, and that wasn't a good thing."

"You two went on a date - sorry, out together, at noon, and food wasn't on the list?" Morgyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it wasn't supposed to be a date," Ezio replied. "But, for the record… I think it was."

Morgyn blinked, eyebrows raising. "Do you?"

"I think I'm falling for her," Ezio admitted quietly. "But you know what, I shouldn't be."

Morgyn made a face. "So, you have feelings, what's wrong about that? Isn't that a good thing? You two are getting along at least. I'm glad."

It was complicated, and Ezio wasn't sure how to explain it to Morgyn. It wasn't like Ezio didn't think he could tell Morgyn that the girl was a Goth, he just also got a bad feeling from the thought of it. Like there was a reason he shouldn't be advertising that there was one of _those_ around. Of course, it was curious that he got that feeling when there was absolutely no indication that he had a _reason_ to feel that way.

Morgyn wasn't a threat to her, Ezio knew that. If anything, Morgyn and Cassandra should probably meet eventually, not only because Ezio _was_ getting a little closer to her, but also because Morgyn was a sage and could help Cassandra learn to control her magic, if she turned out to have it. Ezio had a hard time believing there _wasn't_ magic in her somewhere. Why exactly it was dormant, that was a question, but it may easily be part of the Goths' way of protecting their children. Who was he to decide they were doing it somehow wrong?

"It's… complicated," Ezio said, taking a drink of his tea.

Morgyn looked a little disappointed with that answer, but simply looked down at the coffee cup.

"I don't really understand it myself," Ezio elaborated. He didn't like it when Morgyn made that expression. It made his heart hurt a little. "It's the same thing with Drake, I guess. I feel like I'm not allowed to fall for her."

Morgyn glanced back up at him, and looked confused. "Things like that don't work that way," Morgyn said.

"I know that," Ezio said. "I'm just telling you how I feel."

The blond went quiet again, and then drew a breath in. "So, speaking of Drake, if you're falling for her, then where does that leave you and Drake?"

Ezio shrugged a shoulder, taking a drink of tea and setting the cup down. "Drake doesn't even like me that way," he said. "Like I know he cares about me, it's just not like _that_ between us."

Morgyn's expression flattened. "Really?" the blond asked. "You wouldn't be able to guess that with all the tension around here."

"What tension?" Ezio asked. That was a strange thing to comment on. And Ezio had no idea what tension Morgyn was talking about. They weren't fighting or anything, as far as Ezio knew. Wait, maybe he'd said something stupid last night and upset Drake or something. Drake wasn't here right now, though, so Ezio wasn't sure how Morgyn would've figured that out just walking in the door. Then again, Morgyn _did_ tend to know things like that.

Morgyn stared at him in silence for a long moment. It almost made Ezio nervous. "You seriously don't know what I mean?"

Ezio mutely shook his head side to side.

"I'll show you, then," Morgyn decided, and the blond stood up, took Ezio's hand, and pulled him into the bedroom.

* * *

"And what exactly is the purpose of this?" Ezio asked. Morgyn had pulled a dark grey dress out of that suitcase, and something told Ezio the blond had been holding onto it for a special occasion. Apparently, today, for whatever reason, was that special occasion.

The blond had wasted no time at all in shoving it over Ezio's head, after pulling him out of what he'd been wearing before. There'd been an awkward and slightly tense moment immediately after Morgyn had gotten his shirt over his head, because as always there was that litter of scars marring his skin, and Morgyn didn't like seeing them. Ezio didn't, either.

And then Morgyn fluidly went to pretending they weren't there, and for some reason, Ezio's heart clenched in his chest at it, and he didn't understand why. He hated other people seeing his scars, but Morgyn wasn't just anyone. Besides, it wasn't as if Morgyn hadn't seen them before. It was a weird thing to get sensitive about _now_ , that was for sure, but maybe questioning it wasn't a good idea right now. Morgyn seemed to be on a mission.

"I'm making a point," Morgyn answered, fiddling with Ezio's hair. "You may not _like_ this point, but I suppose I should've calculated the risks of this one way before now, and now is a little bit too late. Anyway, here." Morgyn turned around, and handed Ezio his makeup box. "Do the thing with the dark makeup you do. I can't do it."

Ezio made a face, but he took the box, and stood up, turning around to face the floor mirror. His eyes were immediately drawn to the marks on his skin, but he tried not to think about it too much. He didn't like his scars. That's all there was to that. As he worked his way through doing his usual makeup though, he eventually turned to look at Morgyn. "Hand me the jacket on the chair over there, please," he asked.

Morgyn turned around, and then handed it to him. "For now," the blond said. "You lose it later."

"Why, exactly?" Ezio asked, taking the jacket and slipping it on over the dress. He had to admit that it was weirdly comfortable. Ezio hadn't ever worn a dress before, mostly because he had no reason to do so, but it wasn't unpleasant, just different. On the bright side, this was a very long dress, it went straight to the floor, and Ezio didn't have to argue with Morgyn about his _legs_.

Ezio _hated_ his legs. Since he was a dancer, and then had picked up martial arts (bad idea), he was probably about half muscle, maybe more, and a good majority of it was in his legs and his butt. So of course, his legs were big and bulky and it just wasn't very good. He didn't like it. And frankly, he hadn't asked anyone else what they thought, because he didn't care what they thought.

Well, maybe that wasn't quite accurate. He didn't ask _most_ people what they thought because he didn't care. The rest, he cared too much about.

"Wouldn't want to ruin the whole effect," Morgyn said, shrugging and sitting down on the edge of Ezio's bed. "You look really good in it, just like I thought you would."

Ezio sighed, finishing up his lipstick and making sure the colour wouldn't bleed. "Thanks, I'm just really confused."

"Just _wait_ ," Morgyn said, sounding exasperated. "It'll make sense by the end, I promise." And then the blond made that _grinning_ face, and Ezio released a sigh.

"You're doing _that thing_ again, like you've got an ace up your sleeve, and I don't _like_ it," Ezio said.

"You're generally not meant to," Morgyn answered.

Ezio sighed, shaking his head, but he didn't ask again, turning back to the mirror and focusing on getting his eyeliner right. Today was supposed to be the day he didn't do his makeup and all of that, but he supposed there went that plan. Morgyn always did have other plans.

The blond stood up while he was working, wandering around the room behind him. Morgyn went to the jewellery box on his dresser, pulling it open and playing with some of the chains. Ezio didn't pay it any mind until Morgyn came over to him and handed him a pair of earrings.

"These too," the blond said.

Ezio looked down at the earrings in Morgyn's hand. This pair were a set of long chains with a connector in the middle. One end had a sun shape, the other end had a crescent moon. Ezio took a breath in, dropping the eyeliner stick back into the makeup box, and taking the earrings. Then he worked on getting them in his ears, and set to doing his eyeshadow. Every so often, he'd glance back at Morgyn, like he was confused, and he was. Morgyn seemed to find his confusion amusing. Ezio decided not to think about it too hard.

Quietly, he got the silvery eyeshadow done, and the interesting thing was that once he was done, he found that the combination of the silvery tones of his eyeshadow, and the grey of the dress, made his eyes stand out even more than usual.

"Gorgeous," Morgyn said, barely a whisper. "You know, I think you might be hotter than me."

" _That_ is weird, Morgyn," Ezio said.

"Why is it weird?" Morgyn asked.

"We're twins."

"So?" Morgyn said. "Being your twin doesn't make me _blind_. It'd be better without your glasses obscuring your eyes, but can't be too picky."

"I can't see without them," Ezio said, rolling his eyes.

"I know," Morgyn answered. "But there are such things as contacts."

Ezio could barely afford his _rent_ , Morgyn thought he could afford _contacts_? He tried not to look too incredulous. Morgyn turned away too quickly to see it when he failed in that endeavour.

The front door opened. "I'm back," Drake's voice called, and Ezio smiled slightly. Now that _Drake_ was here, he could help Ezio figure out what the fuck Morgyn was doing _this_ time, because he still hadn't figured this one out.

"Oh, there he is," Morgyn said, closing the jewellery box and turning around, shuffling over to Ezio. Without explaining anything, Morgyn pulled the jacket back off his shoulders, and then fiddled with getting his hair to stop being so frizzy.

"That'll never lay down right," Ezio said.

"Probably not, no," Morgyn answered. "I have to try, okay, out you go." Morgyn turned Ezio around, nudging him to the bedroom door, and then opened it and pushed him a little ways out into the small hallway between the bedroom and the entry.

Ezio turned around to look at the idiot like Morgyn had done lost it, but to be honest, Morgyn had probably lost it a long time ago. Morgyn closed the door behind him, and Ezio loosed a great sigh and turned back to Drake. Who was staring at him, his mouth open just a little, one eyebrow quirked upward slightly.

"… are you okay?" Ezio asked.

"What?" Drake asked. "Me? Fine. I'm just - I'm fine. Perfectly fine should I not be fine?"

Ezio's eyebrows drew together in concern. "Um. You should be fine, yes?"

"Where ah, where are you going?" Drake asked.

"Nowhere," Ezio said. "Here, I think? I don't know, Morgyn just kind of shoved me in a dress and didn't explain anything. I guess weird things like that happen all the time, but, it was still a bit confusing."

"Okay, uh, well I have to write so I'll see you later," Drake said, and then he scooted around Ezio and went for the office door.

"Wait, Drake," Ezio protested, as he went, but Drake went in and closed the door behind him.

Now Ezio was confused. What the _heck_ was that about? Not that he didn't figure Drake _did_ have things to do, he just normally didn't blow Ezio off like that. Ezio didn't want to admit it, even in his own head, but it sort of stung. He thought about it, for a moment, whether he should leave well enough alone, because apparently Drake wanted his peace. And then, Ezio took a breath, turned around, and opened the office door. Drake hadn't _locked_ it, at least. Not that it would've helped. The locks around here were so easy to pick you could use just about anything to do it.

"Hey, I know you said you were going to write, but, are you sure you're okay?" Ezio asked.

"I'm fine," Drake answered, resting one arm on the small desk.

Ezio watched him, for a moment. Strangely, Drake didn't seem to be able to figure out where to look, his gaze darting around across the walls, but it kept going back to Ezio, too. Like he couldn't look at him, and also couldn't look away from him, either.

Oh god. The light probably dawned in his eyes, and Ezio opened his mouth, and then closed it. And then he turned away. "Okay," he said, and he left the office and closed the door behind him. What was he supposed to _do_ with that? Drake _was_ attracted to him, after all. Ezio had no idea _why_ , it was just like something had suddenly violently _shifted_ and he didn't know how to feel about it.

Morgyn popped the bedroom door open, and scuttled out. "See?" the blond said. "He _likes_ you."

Ezio stared at the idiot for a moment, like he wasn't sure how to take _that_ either. That was all just too much. "Yeah," Ezio whispered. "I see."

And then he moved around Morgyn, into his room, and shut the door.

* * *

That was harder to deal with than he'd expected. Ezio paced around his room, slightly. It was a fairly large room, all things considered, but he couldn't really decide if it was large because it was just _large_ , or because there was practically nothing in it. He supposed it didn't matter either way, and probably, he simply didn't want to think about this right now, so he was thinking about literally anything else.

Drake was always the safe one. It was hard to explain, but, when everyone else seemed to have ulterior motives for being nice to him, Drake never did. It wasn't like he thought suddenly that had _changed_ , or something, it was just that… agh, he had no idea. Honestly, Ezio had no idea why this was so difficult a thing to realise. Maybe because he couldn't keep using Drake doesn't like me as an excuse to hide his feelings or, maybe because this made things more complicated than he'd like them to be, or… or maybe because it changed how _he_ saw Drake.

God that sounded stupid even in his own head. Somewhere amid him pacing around, Morgyn opened the bedroom door, and closed it softly. The blond watched him pace around for a moment, and then moved around him to sit down on his bed again.

"So, what's wrong?" Morgyn asked. "I don't understand, I thought you'd be happy about this."

Ezio snorted. "I mean, I kind of did, too, like, you know my lifelong crush apparently also has a crush on me, that's _good_ , right?" Then why didn't it _feel_ that way? He had no idea. It didn't _actually_ change anything, at least, he didn't think it did. "I just. I didn't know. Obviously I didn't know, and he's been the only one that didn't see me that way for so long, kind of like that safe friend that you know is very gay, and you're not a girl, right? Or whatever. Does that even make any sense? It's like when I don't want anything to be awkward I can always go to him, and… I mean it's not like suddenly everything changes and he gets dangerous out of nowhere just because apparently he is actually _attracted_ to me it's just…"

He had too many experiences with people that were exactly like that, he supposed, and it was some sort of a trauma response. That was all he could figure. Which, that wasn't Drake's fault, it was just that he'd stepped in it on accident, and maybe after France this was to be expected. Ezio just _felt it_ and also felt like he was being terribly unfair at the same time. Drake wasn't any of those other people. He knew Drake. He _knew_ Drake, in ways that he'd probably _never_ know anyone else.

What the _hell_ was he so afraid of?

What the hell _wasn't_ he so afraid of?

"Nothing changed, Ezio," Morgyn said. "You're right about that. Drake didn't magically turn into someone else. It's just now you know things you didn't before."

"I know that," Ezio said, still pacing around the room. "But I'm not necessarily going to _not_ freak out about it, because something I thought I knew isn't right and I based a good deal of our relationship on it. He was my _rock_ , Morgyn, for a long time." It wasn't as if he couldn't be, now.

"You're just being dramatic," Morgyn said. "He's not going to suddenly start treating you any different, and your relationship doesn't have to change if you don't want it to, I guess."

"No, you don't get it," Ezio said, the frustration coming out in his tone. "I know nothing really changes. It just feels like it does. I think I have to get used to this change in perception."

"Oh don't be silly, it's all in your head," Morgyn answered. "You're being ridiculous Ezio, it's the same Drake that you had yesterday."

His heart squeezed in his chest. Ezio screwed his eyes shut, and shook his head. "Just, never mind." Ezio wasn't sure, in times like these, when he _tried_ to explain these things to Morgyn, whether it was _him_ that was the problem, or if maybe the problem lie in Morgyn. He'd never wonder those sorts of things out loud, because he didn't want to hurt Morgyn.

Even if it _was_ all in his head, did that really make it any less real?

Morgyn sighed, shifting slightly to cross one leg over the other. "Ezio, look, it's 2019, okay? At some point you've gotta stop letting Jean make your decisions for you."

Ezio stopped pacing, staring at the wall, for a moment. What did Morgyn just say? Ezio turned around, his expression flat. "What did you say?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"I just think you're letting things that happened a long time ago affect you too much, that's all," Morgyn said, shrugging one shoulder. "We're not there anymore, you know? Jean is gone, Ezio."

Yeah, maybe. Maybe he was letting things that were long over make his decisions for him, and maybe he was being overdramatic, and maybe there was a part of him that was _afraid_ to stop hurting and be happy because he hadn't ever spent a second of his life _not_ being in pain and he didn't know what to do without it. Yeah. Maybe that was it. Morgyn had all the answers, wasn't that right?

Well, Morgyn tried to tell him how to do pretty much everything else. How to process his own trauma seemed to be on the list, too.

Ice shot across the floor, crackling and snapping up the walls, coating the paint in swirls of frosted crystals. Ezio's vision blurred, but he didn't pay it any mind, holding one hand out and magically _yanking_ the door open. The ice groaned and screamed, and then shattered from the force, and the door jerked open, slamming into the wall behind and cracking the ice against it. "I'd suggest you stay with Caleb tonight," Ezio said, his voice still not very loud.

Morgyn seemed to have figured out that was the wrong thing to say. "Ezio, I didn't mean it that way -"

"I said go," Ezio interrupted.

"Ezio I'm _sorry_ -"

" _GET OUT_!" The ice shot up the walls the rest of the way, crashing into the ceiling and raining crystals onto the ice on the floor.

Morgyn wordlessly stood up, kicked the blond's suitcase to free it from the ice, picked it up, and walked out.

Ezio waved his hand and slammed the door behind the idiot, and then instantly regretted it. He almost walked across the ice, after Morgyn, to say that _he_ was sorry, that he overreacted, because he didn't like any mention of Jean at all, and definitely not in _that_ context… but his heart hurt too much, and the end result was, he stared at the door, and did nothing at all. Then the tears became hard to ignore, and Ezio fell to his knees on the ice, and cried.

* * *

"I shouldn't have said that."

Morgyn sat curled up on the couch, clinging to a pillow and rocking slightly. The blond _probably_ could've gone to the Casa di Colori a little early, something told Morgyn that Brandon wouldn't have minded that, but after _that_ particular event, Morgyn kind of needed Caleb anyway. He always seemed to know what to say, even when it felt like everything was falling apart, and Ezio would never forgive Morgyn for that line, and what exactly had made Morgyn think that was a _good comparison_?

The blond loosed a very upset noise, head dropping onto the pillow, and curled up even tighter.

Caleb released a sigh, shuffling over to kneel down beside the couch. "No, you probably shouldn't have said that," he said. "But you did, and you can't take it back."

Morgyn whimpered again, turning to look at him. "He's never going to talk to me again," the blond said. "I mean I didn't make him _mad_ , Caleb, I saw it in his eyes, he was hurt, not angry."

"Of course he was," Caleb said. "You and I both know that whatever _did_ happen in France, and I've got a few guesses as to what that might be, it had a lot to do with Jean Dussault."

Morgyn shifted and dropped into the pillow several times. "Why did I say that?" the blond asked, muffled of course in the pillow.

"Because you have a nasty habit of saying things before you've thought them through all the way," Caleb said.

Morgyn's whimper probably said exactly how the blond felt about _that_ assessment. He wasn't wrong. That was such a stupid thing to say, just in general. And Morgyn didn't like thinking about it too much, but there were a few ways that mess in France could've gone that would make saying _specifically that_ at the time that the blond _had_ probably the _worst_ idea possible.

How was it that Morgyn was always just missing him? It was like the more Morgyn tried to hold onto Ezio, the more Morgyn lost him. It was always like this. From the time he came to magic realm from France, through the centuries to now. Ezio always felt like he was just steadily slipping through Morgyn's fingers and the blond couldn't keep hold of him, and trying… just seemed to hurt him.

Morgyn hated it.

"What am I gonna do?" Morgyn asked. The blond didn't really expect Caleb to have an answer, but maybe he did. He was better at this sort of thing than Morgyn was, anyway.

Caleb sighed again, reaching over and resting a hand on Morgyn's. "You should apologise, to start with," he said. "But for right now, give him some space, let him calm down a little, and maybe have some tea."

Morgyn released a sigh, head turning on the pillow to look at him. "I don't know if he's ever going to forgive me."

"Yeah, he will," Caleb said. "You're you, and he's him."

"Glad _someone's_ got some faith in this," Morgyn grumbled. "I still don't even understand the actual problem we were talking about in the first place."

Caleb tilted his head. "What were you talking about?"

"Ezio apparently had no idea Drake has a thing for him," Morgyn said. "Like, that he's attracted to him. I don't know, he was kind of speaking nonsense, but he said something about how his perception changed so he has to change how he thinks or something like that. I didn't really get it. It's the same as it was yesterday, it's just that now he knows something he didn't before."

Caleb made a face. "You're not really listening to him, then."

"What?" Morgyn asked. "Of course I am!" It was just that Ezio didn't make any fucking sense. How was Morgyn supposed to make anything right if he didn't understand it in the first place? And Ezio always got so _angry_ when Morgyn tried to ask other questions and pose ideas, like the blond didn't understand. And then Ezio didn't want to explain it and so Morgyn still didn't get it.

"No, I don't think you are," Caleb said. And the only reason Morgyn didn't slap him was because he didn't sound patronising, probably. But Caleb never did. "I don't think he wants you to _fix_ anything, Morgyn."

"What? Then why talk about it?" Morgyn asked. "Isn't that the whole point of talking about things, finding solutions and making things right?"

Caleb released a sigh. "Sometimes, Morgyn, people just want to talk."

Well that seemed like a waste of time. Morgyn couldn't understand the purpose to just _talking_ about things that caused someone trouble or pain without the intent to fix that thing. And if you couldn't fix that thing, wasn't it a better idea to just ignore it? There were bunches of other things to do besides wallow and hurt yourself, right? Why would someone purposely focus on something that hurt them?

"I don't get it," Morgyn said.

Caleb drew another breath in, and then said, "People don't always want fixes, Morgyn. They just want to know that someone's listening, and someone cares. I know you want to fix it. It's valid. But that isn't what Ezio wants. He doesn't want anything to be fixed at all, maybe he even knows _how_ to fix it himself. He just wants to be heard. That's it. You don't have to fix anything. Just listen."

That sounded so _stupid_. Maybe it was for the best that Morgyn was having this discussion with Caleb, and not Ezio, because Morgyn would've likely told Ezio outright that it was stupid and that was a waste of time. "That's such a waste of time."

Caleb shook his head. "It's how some people _process_ things, Morgyn," he said, his tone gentle. "Some people need to say things to understand them. Need to… to talk through their problems, because in talking through them, they manage to work them out, too. Other times, maybe they need to feel like someone cares, or someone else understands what they've gone through and experienced. There are a lot of reasons why someone might want to talk things out instead of cut straight to dealing with a problem. It doesn't mean that they're wrong, or that you are. It only means that you deal with things in different ways, and if it works for you, then, that's good, there's no reason to change that. But you must understand that it doesn't work for everyone. And most importantly, right now, it doesn't work for Ezio. Maybe he's just felt alone for so long that the only way he can heal now is not to feel alone anymore."

"He isn't," Morgyn said. "I'm right here, he's got Drake -"

"That's not what I mean," Caleb said. "Have you ever… you ever been around a lot of people, there's this room full of people, and still felt alone and isolated?"

Morgyn didn't say anything, but the way Caleb looked at the blond said that nothing _needed_ to be said.

"See? That's what it means to feel alone emotionally. Everyone does eventually. Everyone deals with it differently, and for some, talking about things that hurt them with others and feeling like someone else hears and understands, _that_ helps."

Morgyn wasn't sure what to do with that. How was the blond supposed to just _listen_ without trying to fix things? That was what Morgyn did, Morgyn _fixed_ things, if something was wrong, it got fixed, and Morgyn moved on. Obviously that wasn't what Ezio wanted Morgyn to _do_ , so even though Morgyn didn't necessarily understand the hows and whys, maybe trying to figure out how to respond the way Ezio needed, maybe that would help them both, and Morgyn can stop hurting Ezio's feelings on accident.

"How do you -"

"Listen, and not try to fix things?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn said, nodding. "I don't know how."

Caleb smiled. "Well, first of all, remember that the conversation isn't about you. Even if you would handle something differently, even if you've got thoughts about something, even if you see something differently, that's not the important part, and it doesn't have a place in this situation. There are other things to say, like, saying that you understand why he feels like that, or you can see why he'd do what he did. Even if you don't see it at all. Don't ask him to explain it to you, because it will probably trigger the analytic side of your brain and then you're right back where you normally get and you're trying to fix it again. Just let him decide what he's going to say and when.

"And unless he literally says to you, 'What do you think?' or 'What would you do?' don't offer either of those. Listening is actually very difficult, it's a skill you can learn, and what matters is the other person knowing that you're understanding what they're trying to tell you. Even if it's something so simple as 'Wow that sounds really hard,' that can make a world of difference. If you do ask questions, keep them open. Things like 'Then what?' and 'How'd you feel about that?' you know? Things that you aren't asking because you want a specific answer back, and are just invitations for him to keep talking. And, be careful of reacting emotionally. It can be hard to listen to, and if he ever does tell you about France, it will be tough to hear. But you can't turn the tables and make it about you. Did that make any sense?"

Morgyn thought about it, for a moment. It sounded like it'd be a difficult thing to get used to, but if Morgyn ever wanted to _truly_ help Ezio in the way that Ezio needed that help, then the blond would _have_ to figure it out. And besides, maybe Caleb communicated that way, too. Morgyn would have to learn it so that when something was bothering Caleb, he'd come to the blond and talk about it. It wasn't like Morgyn _didn't_ want to know these things, anyway.

"Yeah," Morgyn answered softly. "I think it did. Thank you."

"Hey, chin up," Caleb said, reaching over to the coffee table and picking up the glass of tea, handing it to Morgyn. "This is Ezio. He'll forgive you."


	10. More Time to Never Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between Two Points, The Glitch Mob ft. Swan  
> Not know is what words for use. 15k today. 2 chapters. Dead. No sleep. Go bed now. Sense make is miracle I did.

It smelled like Morgyn in his room. That made sense. It wasn't like Morgyn hadn't been sleeping in his room for the last few days, but it still somehow caught him by surprise, and Ezio ended up moving back out into the living room. He couldn't deal with the scent right now. He still didn't know what he felt.

Was he angry? Maybe he was. Maybe Morgyn was right, and Ezio was just holding onto things that he shouldn't be holding onto, letting things hurt him that he shouldn't be letting hurt him. Ezio liked to think that he was living every moment of every day like it was his last, because someday he'd be right, with or without his heart quitting on him. Maybe he was just using that as an excuse not to think about anything too hard. It wasn't like he understood anything going on in his head half the time, mostly because it was just easier to ignore it. Life didn't stop just because he'd had a bad time once a long time ago, and Ezio thought he was moving past it. Ezio thought he was living his life anyway, in spite of the people and things that had tried to keep him from doing so over the years.

How did you come to terms with the reality that everything you thought you knew, even the one thing you thought was a stable, safe thing, something you didn't have to question, might well be well-told lies? Ezio didn't know.

Drake was still in the office. It was for the best, because Ezio didn't think he could handle dealing with Morgyn's shit and his now hazy internal concept of a relationship he didn't expect to ever change on him. And he still knew, of course, that the relationship itself hadn't changed. It just _felt_ different. Maybe it _was_ different because how _he_ felt about it had changed. Despite not wanting to, wanting to just go on like everything was exactly how it'd been a week ago, he still kept thinking what if, what if, what if… because even as he said he was fine with how things were, god if he didn't want, and always had. Because even as Drake was right there, Ezio still missed him, _longed_ for him, almost, and it was stupid and selfish and there was no _point_ , and then…

Suddenly, there was a point. It was like someone had opened a window in a dark room, and the sunlight had spilled out across the charred floorboards and broken tile, and for once, Ezio could see the patterns in the shards of tile, the grains in the wood, how they made swirls and twists and knots and everything was different and nothing had changed at all. It was the same room that it'd always been, with the same things that had always been there. But for once, Ezio was _seeing_ it.

Ezio turned down towards the cup in his hands. Warm tea always had a way of making everything better, but all it did was tell him, in not so many words, that everything changed, just as it all stayed the same. He'd get past this, sooner or later. He'd get past the nervousness, and how his heart seemed to leap into his throat whenever he saw Drake or heard him moving around, he'd settle back down into the easy co-existence they'd been in before, but for right now, in this exact moment, Ezio was hyper-aware of him, and hyper-aware of how much his heart hurt.

But even when Morgyn shoved knives into it, Ezio still kept handing the idiot his heart, and probably always would. Morgyn slipped up, like Morgyn tended to do, because the blond ran off at the mouth without thinking more often than not. One would _think_ that with age, that particular habit would've been curbed some, but it didn't seem that way. Maybe Morgyn would always be that way, and Ezio would always be having to remember it.

It was always Ezio curbing his pain to make Morgyn feel better, and even when he did, it felt like it wasn't good enough.

Ezio tried to tell himself that wasn't what Morgyn meant. He knew that. He _knew_ it, in the way he didn't have to think about the words, but it didn't stop him from _feeling_ like that. Logic and feelings, of course, they never worked very well together, like oil and water didn't. Ezio could tell himself all he wanted that Morgyn didn't mean it that way, but his heart would still clench up and squeeze when things like this happened and Morgyn inevitably said what Morgyn said, and Ezio felt what he felt.

Maybe the worst part of it was reacting the way that he did, and _seeing_ that it was the wrong way to react even as he did it, and not be able to stop it. Morgyn wasn't his enemy. Morgyn was all he had, aside from Drake. And that was why he didn't talk about his feelings, because they were stupid and nonsensical, and he really _should_ be over this shit by now, it was probably a personal failing, some form of weakness or something that made him still feel the sharp sting when someone said the wrong name, that made him panic for just a moment when he heard screaming.

And it was all just… in his head.

Ezio breathed out, leaning against the counter as he was. The steam from his tea moved around in the air as he did so, and then he could sense, rather than heard, Morgyn on the other side of the door. Morgyn had so much nervous energy out there it was leaking under the door, but Ezio stayed where he was, waiting. He just wanted to see if Morgyn would make it past this part. Ezio's anger could be a rather bitter thing, Ezio knew that, but he'd never been angry in the first place. Ezio mostly just felt lost and confused.

Morgyn stood out there for a long moment, and then paced around in a circle for another long moment, and then went to go back across the hall. Ezio let out another sigh, pushed off the counter, and went to the door, pulling it open. Morgyn froze in the middle of the hallway.

Ezio just stared at the idiot for a few moments. The eyeshadow covered it for the most part, but he'd spent all night crying off and on, and Morgyn looked like the idiot hadn't slept at all. They were ridiculous.

"Come in, idiot," Ezio said, breathing out and moving away from the door. Ezio turned around and moved back into the kitchen. "Coffee?" he asked.

But he didn't get words in response, as Morgyn bolted across the hallway and in the door, crashing into Ezio's back, arms wrapping around him tightly, like Morgyn was afraid if the blond didn't hold him tight enough, he'd fly away.

Ezio stopped, looking down at Morgyn's hands, and then reached down and patted those hands with one of his own.

"I'm sorry," Morgyn whispered. "I am so, so sorry, I don't know why I said that, and I'm sorry, and I know now, why I keep hurting you and how. Caleb told me about it. I don't know if I understand it exactly, maybe I never will, and I can't promise I'll ever be _good_ at this but I'll try. For you. But I can't… Ezio I can't stand it. When you talk about certain things, it's like you become someone else, and I can't stand the hurt and the confusion in your voice and I want to pull it all out and make everything okay again and I don't think really well when it's like that in my head. I don't think I _think_ , I think I just react."

Ezio drew a breath in, looking up at the ceiling. Yeah, he knew this. Morgyn wasn't much of a mystery, most of the time, at least, not to him. But Ezio also listened to the silence. Ezio shook his head, more to himself, and set his teacup on the counter, turning around and detaching Morgyn from around his waist.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching up and taking Morgyn's face in his hands. "You're my twin, Morgyn. I will never be so angry with you that I won't talk to you, or that I don't want to see you anymore or I don't have time for you. Sometimes I just need to be alone for a little while, that's all. Okay?"

Morgyn's face scrunched up, and the blond loosed a quiet whine. "You're allowed to be mad at me."

"I'm not," Ezio said. "I wasn't even mad last night."

Morgyn looked worried, but then glanced at the wall, and then asked, "So, how did you feel, then?"

Ezio shrugged a shoulder, letting Morgyn go, and taking his teacup again. "Confused, mostly."

"About what?" Morgyn shuffled around the kitchen, setting the coffee pot to making anti-Morgyn-murder liquid, and then settled down at the dining room table.

Drawing a breath in, Ezio settled down on the other side of the table. "Why you'd say that to me, I think," he said. "It just seemed like a weird thing to say at the time. In hindsight, I'm not really sure. About either of those things."

Morgyn snorted. "Because I'm an im - … um. Yeah I can see that."

Ezio glanced over at the blond. Morgyn was acting just a little bit weird today, but then he supposed Morgyn _would_ be, after the mess that was last night. There were water stains in his room from the ice, now. He hadn't lost control of it in a long time, so he didn't really anticipate _that_ being a problem, and he wasn't sure how he was going to get that out, or explain it to the landlord. Whatever. One thing at a time here.

"Thank you," Ezio said, reaching across the table and taking Morgyn's hand.

"For what?" Morgyn asked.

"For trying to understand."

Morgyn smiled slightly, head ducking for a moment. "You still mean the world to me, you know?" the blond said.

Ezio smiled too, for a moment, and the two sat in silence, only the sound of the coffee pot gurgling and spitting breaking the silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though. A quiet hissing sound caught Ezio's attention, between taking a drink of his tea and setting the cup back down, and his eyes immediately went to Morgyn. The blond's face was scrunched up in pain, head tilted to one side.

"Are you okay?" Ezio asked.

"Fine," Morgyn said, "just fine. Just had a headache off and on for a while now, couple days I think."

"You shouldn't be having headaches that long, Morgs," Ezio said, sounding concerned. He set the cup down on the table, finally. "How bad is it?"

"Not very," Morgyn answered. "Don't worry so much. It'll go away eventually, and probably on its own."

Ezio frowned. Maybe not, but he didn't say that. Instead, he stood up and let Morgyn's hand go to rummage through one of the drawers in the kitchen. When he came back to the table, he handed Morgyn a bottle.

"This is a pain killer," he said. "Just take one, and if it doesn't make the pain more tolerable, take another. Don't take more than two, you can damage your kidneys."

Morgyn snorted, taking the bottle. "Nothing damages my kidneys, my kidneys damage other things."

"That's not how that works," Ezio said, smiling just slightly in amusement. "Honestly, Morgyn, what am I going to do with you?"

"Roll your eyes at me a lot and call me an idiot," Morgyn answered.

Morgyn was probably right about that. As the blond got up, getting a glass of water to take the pain killer with, Ezio couldn't help but wonder, if this had anything to do with the warning that Makana had given him.

_The storm has come._

* * *

They talked about nothing. They talked about everything. They talked about things that didn't really matter, things that could've mattered once and didn't quite make it, things that they should've brought up a long time ago but never found the time for. And when, again, the conversation turned to things that Ezio had a hard time with, Morgyn made sure to try not to talk over him, and in turn, Ezio tried to _talk_.

"You've tried explaining it before," Morgyn said, idly painting the blond's toenails on the living room floor. They were red, of course. "But I still don't really get it, so, the thing with you and Drake?"

Ezio looked at the blond with uncertainty, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to try saying anything at all.

"I just want to understand," Morgyn said. And it was true. Now that Morgyn was _trying_ to understand and Ezio was talking about anything at all, Morgyn wanted to hear everything he had to say. Because it wasn't until his voice came back that Morgyn realised that it'd been missed. When they were kids, of course, life was simpler, both the era and their lives in general, their minds were simpler, everything was easier, and they told each other everything.

No one knew Ezio like Morgyn did. Or at least, no one should. That was, maybe, not so accurate anymore, and Morgyn found that the blond hated that realisation. And yet had no one else to blame for it.

Ezio shrugged a shoulder, looking down at his lap. "Drake and I are really complicated," he said. "A lot more complicated than it seems like, and I don't know if I even really understand why. I love him, and I don't mean that I'm _in love_ with him, you know? I got past that stage a long time ago. I mean I love him, because when he's here, it's like I've come home. But he was also a kind of safe that I think I sort of idealised a little, and now I don't know what to do with the idea that I had in my head. I know, still, nothing changes, not really, but it's like there are details and things that I've never seen before. It's like not being able to see the colour red, and then suddenly you can, and the whole world is exactly the same as it was before, but is absolutely different."

Morgyn frowned, slightly. The blond couldn't say that made any sense, but then Morgyn supposed the blond was a little privileged, in that sense. To never have had someone or something challenge the blond's worldview that way, even on a small scale like this. Maybe it _was_ a little jarring, though Morgyn still didn't really get it.

"He's exactly the same as he was before," Ezio said. "But now I'm seeing a part of him that I didn't even know was there. It's sort of embarrassing, not to realise that it was there, but I just figured he was ace or something. Nothing wrong with being ace. But he isn't, and he sees me in a way I don't think I want him to? Ugh, not really. That's not really what I mean but I don't know the words for it."

Morgyn released a breath, reaching over and taking Ezio's hand. He was sitting up on the couch, mostly fiddling with his fingernails. "I think that's okay," Morgyn said. "Not to know the words for it, I mean."

Ezio smiled, then drew a breath in. "I want to understand it," Ezio said. "You and I are a lot alike in this way. When something changes like this, we both react the same way, fundamentally. We both want to understand how and why that thing changed, and figure out how the new puzzle pieces fit into our lives and it's a hard thing to figure out sometimes. Like I said yesterday, Drake is my rock, always has been. And now I just kind of have to reconcile the Drake that I had in my head with the one that's here now, and this is entirely a me problem and I think this is a little unfair. It doesn't really change how I feel about it, it just means that now I feel like a shitty friend to him because this is all it takes to throw me into a state of internal chaos over him. Can I even say I love him right now?"

"Of course you can," Morgyn said. "Don't say that. It's just -" the blond paused. Should that even be said? Maybe this part wasn't really Morgyn's place. It was hard to sort out what was okay to say and what wasn't in this sort of thing. Caleb was right. It was kind of a learnt skill. "I think maybe you just spent a long time only seeing him, and not all the other extraneous things. And now you have to remember that he's not… he's more human than you really think about?" Was that even right?

But, Ezio sighed, and tilted his head, resting it against his shoulder. "Yeah, something like that. It's all really kind of silly when I think about it and break everything down."

"What are you going to do now?" Morgyn asked.

"I don't know," Ezio answered. "I don't want anything to change, but I really want things to change. I guess I have to figure out which one is stronger or something like that. It's kind of like you and Caleb, I guess. Things have been a certain way for so long that I think I'm afraid if I move in any one direction, everything could fall apart. You know? Like it's all thin crystal balanced on the edge of a knife, and one move the wrong way will send it crashing to the floor. I'm so scared of _losing_ him."

"Oh honey," Morgyn whispered, squeezing Ezio's hand. And then kind of debated what to say right there. The knee-jerk instinct that Morgyn had was maybe not the right one, maybe it was invalidating. The conflict must've shown in Morgyn's eyes, because Ezio sat up, leaned over and kissed the blond's forehead.

"Go ahead and say it," he said. "I can see it anyway."

Morgyn snorted. "I think, if any couple can get through this change without losing each other, it'll be you two."

Ezio blinked like that wasn't what he was expecting. "I. Thank you. That really means a lot."

"I'm not just saying it," Morgyn said, shrugging. "I've always been really envious of you and Drake. How easily you two fit together. Like you're really one puzzle piece that just looks like it should separate and doesn't. I wanted that, you know, for Caleb and I, but I don't think we'll ever get there, because I'm not like you. Caleb and I, we're still learning each other's language somehow, this long of knowing each other later, but then maybe I never really _tried_ to - this is getting away from me. The point is, trust in you two. Trust in what you have. Trust _each other_ , Ezio. What was it you said to me? You will never know what it is to fly, if you never leave the ground?"

Ezio snorted, and started to say something, but stopped as Morgyn winced and raised a hand to the blond's temple. "Again?" Ezio asked, reaching over to gently rest his hands on Morgyn's hair.

"Yeah," Morgyn answered, face scrunched up in pain. "Kind of feels like there's a midget back there with a jackhammer, you know?"

"Oo, yeah I know how those feel," Ezio said. "When did you take that pain killer?"

"Couple hours ago, I think," Morgyn answered. "It's fine, I'll just make some chamomile tea and lay down for a bit or something. It's probably just a tension headache."

"Yeah, maybe," Ezio allowed. "If you're sure about that, then, alright."

"Hey, don't worry so much," Morgyn said. "You're supposed to be keeping your stress levels down anyway."

"Hard to do that with _you_ around," Ezio answered wryly.

"Hey," Morgyn protested. "You're right, but _hey_."

Ezio snorted softly, a soft huff that was almost a laugh.

"That's better," Morgyn said. "Ezio, I think if we're going to stay together, we're going to have to talk to each other. And I don't mean just about things that happen, and things that happened a long time ago, I mean when things go wrong. I'm stupid, okay? I need you to tell me when I'm doing things that hurt you, because I don't necessarily _know_ , and I don't want to hurt you."

Ezio blinked, and then shook his head, looking down at his lap. "I don't want to hurt you, either, or make you feel bad about it. It's not like you do these things on purpose."

"And that's even _worse_ , Ezio," Morgyn said. "Because you can't really be mad about it, it's not like I'm doing it on purpose. I do know you sometimes, you know." Morgyn reached up, wincing in pain, and gently brushed some of Ezio's hair out of his eyes. "I shouldn't be hurting you. And I want to be here for you like you're always here for me."

Ezio breathed in, and let it go. "I don't know if I can always tell you."

"That's okay," Morgyn said, standing up and wincing again. "Whatever you can and want to tell me, I would like to hear. Tell you what," Morgyn started, holding out a pinky finger, "you try and talk to me, and I'll try and listen when you do. I wanna get this right."

Ezio looked up at the blond for a moment, eyeing the offered finger, then hooked one of his in it. "Okay," Ezio said. "I think I can do that."

* * *

Things weren't perfect between them. There was still a lot that Ezio had kept behind his teeth and maybe he always would. Some of those hurts, maybe he felt like they were his, right now, his little fractured gems, imperfectly beautiful things that shimmered in the light and threw colour all over the walls. Someday, maybe he'd feel brave enough to share the particular colours those gemstones made with other people. Morgyn, or Drake, maybe. But right now, they were his. His to turn around in his fingers in the light and try and puzzle out.

But Morgyn was listening, or at least, trying to, for now. Time would tell how long Morgyn Impetuous Ember could manage to continue listening instead of trying to cut straight to the heart of a problem like the semantics didn't matter, and maybe for Morgyn they didn't. Morgyn wasn't Ezio. Though they looked so much alike, they really were their own people, no one could say they weren't.

There were similarities between them, interests that they both had, habits they both had, good and bad ones. But they communicated in completely different ways, and Ezio didn't think that would ever entirely change. Ezio knew that Morgyn didn't tend to focus on things like understanding the emotions and motivations behind something. That wasn't important to the blond, most of the time, and Ezio tried to be understanding of it. It didn't change the reality that it was hurtful, just like it was probably frustrating and annoying when Ezio didn't seem interested in fixing anything, just in complaining.

Sooner or later, Morgyn would get impatient again, and stop listening. And presumably, they'd eventually be right back here, because as much as Morgyn had asked him to say something when the blond was hurting him, it didn't really matter in the end. Ezio couldn't fairly ask Morgyn to change because of him, right? This whole thing was really Ezio's problem, and not Morgyn's anyway. If he was just less sensitive about it, if he just quit expecting Morgyn to act like someone that wasn't Morgyn, if he just… it felt like he was going around in circles in his head about this. Maybe he was.

And still, he had no more idea what to do with the situation with Drake than he did before. His relationship with Cassandra might've also just gotten more complicated, but then maybe not. He supposed that depended on them. Drake probably wouldn't complain about it too much, but before Ezio brought _that_ up, they needed to establish relationships with each other and figure out what they were to one another in pairs, without the added complications of _polyamory_. He and Cassandra may not last very long, anyway, it was hard to say exactly, and Ezio wasn't generally very good at such guesswork.

Something seemed really off, too, he noticed that sensation a few hours ago, when Morgyn had gone to go lay down. That feeling like a dam was just about to break, or that a storm was just about to unleash, Ezio was getting that feeling a lot nowadays, and judging by the things Makana had been warning him about for three decades now, it was probably safe to assume that whatever was coming was a _lot_ bigger than Ezio's non-existent love-life issues.

Kassander hadn't said anything, but then, Kassander usually tried to keep his snout out of other people's business unless given no other choice, or the vampire race was threatened somehow. Of course, given this was happening again, he did have to wonder if Aine was still involved; if she'd been messing around with vampires back then like he suspected, it was entirely possible that she'd run amiss of the father of vampires, and Ezio really didn't want to be on _that_ guy's bad side, that was for sure.

"Ezio?" Morgyn's voice came from the doorway.

Ezio glanced up at it, smiling slightly. Morgyn's hair was a mess like the blond had been tossing and turning a lot, hands under a blanket wrapped around Morgyn's shoulders. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

"A thicker blanket, or maybe like a hoodie or something, both?" Morgyn said, and then winced. "Sorry, I don't know, I'm just really cold."

Ezio's eyes narrowed slightly, but he stood up. "Stay right there," he said, shuffling into the bathroom, and going through the medicine cabinet. When he came back, he uncapped a thermometer, and held it out. "Hold this under your tongue."

"What?" Morgyn asked. "What for?"

"Just do it okay?" Ezio said.

Morgyn didn't look so sure about it, but eventually took it and set it under the blond's tongue.

Ezio was watching the digital read-out on it. Morgyn usually ran a little hot anyway, but it went up to 98.9, and stopped. "Well, you're not running a fever, at least," Ezio said, taking the thermometer back from Morgyn, and going back into the bathroom with it. He spent a moment washing it off, and then capped it and put it back in the cabinet. "So I guess you just have a headache and cold chills for unknown reasons at the moment."

"Why were you looking for a fever?" Morgyn asked.

"If you had one, you might've had the flu," Ezio said. "Would've given me a better idea of how to deal with this. You're not nauseous or anything, are you?"

Morgyn's head shook silently.

"Okay," Ezio said. "Well, you left your suitcase at Caleb's, didn't you?"

"I did yeah," Morgyn said. "I should probably go get it, I just figured you probably had a spare blanket or-"

"No, go lay down," Ezio said. "I'll go get it."

"Are you sure?" Morgyn asked, but Ezio was already turning the blond around and nudging Morgyn back into the bedroom.

"Rest," Ezio said. "And maybe I can get your boyfriend to make consomme again."

Morgyn flushed pink. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend usually implies dating, you two are dating, he's your boyfriend," Ezio said, sitting Morgyn down on the bed. Then, Ezio leaned over and pulled a box out from under the bedframe, taking the lid off and handing a bundle of fabric to Morgyn. "This should help for right now," he said. "Until I come back at least. Just, lie down and rest okay?" For Morgyn to be having a headache for this long, _right now_ , it just seemed a little too perfect. He was worried, but he was trying not to show it. Morgyn didn't need to be getting stressed out right now, on the off chance there was more to this than it seemed like.

Ezio moved around the room, casting a quick spell on the side lamp, to dim the light. As he made his way back to the bedroom door, Mayor Whiskers scampered out after him. Ezio stopped, turning around and kneeling down. "Mayor, do me a favour, okay?" he said. Mayor's ears pricked up. "Watch over Morgyn for me while I'm gone."

As Ezio turned back around and headed out the front door, Mayor turned around too, facing Morgyn, and sat down, watching the blond rest while Ezio went across the hallway.

He barely had the chance to touch the door before Caleb was opening it. "What is that?" Caleb immediately asked.

"I'm just here for Morgyn's suitcase," Ezio replied.

"No, I know you can sense that," Caleb said, insistent. "What is it?"

For a moment, Ezio looked at him like he'd lost it, but then he started sensing around. All he could really sense were the other spellcasters scattered around San Myshuno, the little clusters of vampires, that sense of wrongness… "The wrongness?" Ezio asked.

"Yeah, sort of something like that," Caleb said.

"I don't know," Ezio answered. "Did Morgyn have a headache last night or the day before?"

Caleb looked thoughtful, shuffling away from the door, and handing Ezio Morgyn's suitcase when he came back. "It started that night we went out, I think, but it was barely a ding on the radar," Caleb said. "And then yesterday it just got really bad, and this morning it was so bad Morgyn took a few hours to get up."

Ezio frowned. The feeling of dread came back, stronger than before, but he still wasn't sure what to do with that. Somehow, he just _knew_ this and the wrongness were related to each other, but he had no idea how. Of course, he did have a decent idea of how to figure it out.

"Thanks," Ezio said. "Hey, would you mind making consomme again? Morgyn's having cold chills now too."

"Fever?" Caleb asked.

"No," Ezio answered, shaking his head. "Just cold for some odd reason."

"That's odd, then," Caleb said.

"It's what we've got to work with, though," Ezio said. "Just come by whenever, I'll leave the door unlocked. Oh, could I get you to stay over for a few hours later? I need to go somewhere, and I don't want to leave Morgyn alone."

"Alright," Caleb said, nodding. "Just come by and get me whenever."

Ezio smiled. "Hey, it'll be okay," he said. But if asked, he couldn't say if he was saying that for Caleb's benefit, or for his own.

* * *

As soon as Caleb was over, and Drake was caught up on the situation at hand, Ezio decided it was okay to leave. Mayor, as it happened, had not moved from his spot on the floor, where he sat watching Morgyn drift in and out of fitful sleep, and with the three of them watching Morgyn, Ezio felt like it was safe to go.

Quietly, he scuttled into the bathroom, closed the door behind him, and pulled out his Glimmerstone. It shimmered strangely in the light, as always it did, and Ezio flicked the hand holding it, causing it to emit a soft blue glow, and then held it up. He murmured the words, and the stone loosed a bright blue flash, but for some reason it felt wrong, like there was something in its way.

And then, he could hear the sounds of rushing water, the falling pieces of broken island that were scattered all over magic realm. Ezio glanced around, and at first, everything _looked_ the same, but then he started listening, and, louder than he remembered it, Ezio could hear the screeching from somewhere out there, beyond the realm's islands. In a way it didn't do before, the sound of the screeching set all of his nerves on edge. It sounded, it _felt_ , like a warning. It hadn't before. Not like this.

Something was wrong. As he stood there, looking around and trying to get a handle on what had changed and what was still the same, the sense of dread that he was becoming too familiar with now settled into the pit of his stomach. Ezio blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he had a sharp, stabbing headache to one side. Though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, and where it was coming from, he could sense it, the wrongness, and it was stronger here than it was in San Myshuno.

He needed to find Simeon and L. Hopefully, he still remembered where everything was around here, despite not being here for so long. Almost twenty years, since he'd last set foot here, and that was sad in a way, because magic realm had been his home for so long. He wondered if maybe someone was threatening the spellcasters, like Aine had thirty years before. Why Aine would've waited until _now_ to make her moves, that one Ezio didn't have an answer for, but it could also be as simple as now was the soonest she had the resources to launch at them. Aine was unfortunately not stupid. Paranoid and too rigid, sure, but she wasn't stupid. She'd know that she was outclassed and wouldn't have tried until she was sure the odds were more in her favour.

Of course, Ezio still hadn't told anyone, not Simeon or L., or Morgyn either, about Aine's involvement in the events thirty-five years ago. At the time, it seemed like useless pointing of fingers, something he didn't generally want to do anyway, but he supposed that point was moot now. If Aine had turned on magic realm, then now it was kind of a big deal. But if he was wrong… it could easily be just about anything. It could be nothing. He could be paranoid and overthinking this, maybe Drake's paranoia was starting to rub off on him.

Ezio shook his head, more to himself, and made his way across the main island, and into the large building that functioned as the Sages' headquarters. This was where most baby spellcasters learnt to control their magic, and gained their first spells and potion recipes. Ezio didn't miss the potion explosions or the constant duelling. Ezio followed his nose; in his memory, Simeon always smelled very strongly of plants and earth, and eventually, he found a scent that was much like that and followed it. Ezio walked up to the other spellcaster, stopping beside him.

Simeon looked up, and smiled. "Well, I'll be," he said, standing up and brushing his pants off. Bits of earth and rock fell off the fabric and clattered to the wooden floor. "I haven't seen you in so long, I almost wondered when Morgyn had a kid that looks so much like him. How have you been, Ezio?"

Ezio smiled, reaching over and patting Simeon's arm. "I'm doing a lot better now, thanks. How are you?"

"Oh, I've been better," Simeon answered. "But I can't complain too much. Things are as they always are around here, it's nice to have the consistency. Helps me remember what I need to be doing and find the motivation, you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand that," Ezio said. "Have you noticed anything weird recently?"

Simeon blinked, his head tilting. And he seemed to want to say something to that, but then shrugged. "Not really," he answered. He didn't sound entirely sure about that response, though, and Ezio wasn't sure what to make of the uncertainty in his voice. "Well, L's a little snappier than usual, acting a little weird, but I think that's just that boy getting her all confused. She wanted sardines the other day, not sure what got into her with that one."

Well, whatever made her happy, Ezio figured. "How's that going, anyway?" Ezio asked.

"It's going," Simeon answered. "He doesn't come by for very long, and he's gone about as quick as he comes sometimes. There are times when it seems like he doesn't even know why he's here at all."

"Does it?" Ezio asked, very interested in _that_.

"Does what?" Simeon asked.

Ezio wasn't expecting that, and blinked in surprise. "There are times when Don seems like he doesn't know why he's here?" Ezio repeated, unsure.

"I said that?" Simeon asked. "I don't recall saying that. No, he seems just fine. He only comes here because L can't leave, as you know."

Ezio was quiet for a moment. He didn't know Simeon to be having memory troubles, or at least, he hadn't heard anything about it, and if Simeon was making a habit of saying things and then immediately forgetting that they'd been said, Ezio was quite sure that Morgyn would've mentioned that, even if only because it pissed the blond off. But if he said something and then forgot it, then it would be quite difficult to get details out of him. Something was _definitely_ wrong here, even if he had no idea what. Memory tampering? Well, that shouldn't be so easy on a sage…

"Out of curiosity, do you know what would happen if L leaves magic realm?" Ezio asked.

"Hmm, you know I never asked," Simeon said. "I vaguely recall, I think, something about how Keisha created… something that was here, for L, and it can't be moved easily. She has to stay where it is. I don't think she'll die, if that's what you're wondering. No wicked witches of the west around here." Simeon laughed his bear laugh, and Ezio smiled a bit.

Ezio didn't know what he was fighting. And he didn't know how much danger they were in. It was a good thing that Morgyn had no intention of coming back here anytime soon, because Ezio did not like the idea of the blond being here right now, not until they knew what was going on and what they were up against.

"Well, things are fine here," Simeon said, smiling. "We're having chili for supper, if you'd like to stay."

"That's okay," Ezio said. "Thank you though." Then, something occurred to Ezio, just then. "Hey, Simeon, do you know off-hand where Morgen is? Yours, not mine, of course."

"Ah," Simeon said, his befuddlement turning to comprehension. "I think she's in the garden upstairs."

"Thank you," Ezio said. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too!" Simeon answered, and he turned back to the plants he'd been tending, as Ezio turned and made his way upstairs to find Morgen.

* * *

Everyone Ezio spoke to along the way up the stairs seemed to have the same trouble of saying something, and then forgetting what they'd said. Ezio was beginning to get a little concerned that _he_ was doing it, too, by the end, but he supposed it didn't matter right now. As long as he didn't forget what he was here for, and how strange everything and everyone was, because he needed to remember that when he left here. Having a familiar would be useful right about now, maybe he should've bonded Mayor a long time ago.

As he made his way up the stairs, he ran into a petite blonde girl, with a little rounded button nose, along the way across the bridge. "Oh, hey Ezio!" the woman greeted.

"Hi Emilia," Ezio said. "How have you been?" She was supposed to marry Darrel Charm, the oldest of Minerva Charm. They had a good bloodline and were pretty keen on preserving it, and maybe if they were lucky they'd eventually replace one of the Five Families.

It wasn't like the families really operated in the same capacity anymore (read: they didn't operate at all), but who was he to judge? Minerva could knock her socks off with that ambition.

"Alright I guess," Emilia answered, shrugging a shoulder. "Things are a little weird around here though. Hey if you're here to see Morgen, don't bother. She doesn't seem to remember her own name half the time anyway. Not sure what Morgyn did wrong with the spell this time, but I think this is what happens when it fails."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ezio said. "Is it really that bad?"

Emilia snorted. "I left her trying to cast a spell by waving a sunflower around."

Ezio blinked in surprise. A sunflower?

"I think it was supposed to be a wand," Emilia said. "Well, anyway, I'd better go home anyway. Minerva's been pretty serious about magic practice at home now, since Morgen's got a few screws loose. You should get Morgyn to come back and fix it. See ya."

"Take care," Ezio said, watching her go down the stairs. Yeah… no. Morgyn wasn't coming anywhere near here right now, but he had no intention of telling Emilia that. She meant well, Ezio knew that. He shook his head, and then started across the bridge to the door, and then out onto the balcony where the flowers were. And as he stepped out into the balmy air, he caught sight of her, over there, long blonde waves held in place with a barette and a headband, the same red coat Morgyn was known for draped over a black turtleneck. She was humming to herself, holding a small bundle of flowers in one hand, and twirling around on the wood.

Ezio watched her, for a moment, and then cleared his throat. She startled.

"Oh! Well, hi there!" she said, turning to look at him, and then she _really_ looked at him, and for some reason, as if she'd never seen him before, her expression turned to one of befuddlement and concern. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked.

"Ezio," he answered.

"Right, well, I'm Morgen Embera, the sage of untamed magic," she answered, giggling and twirling around yet again.

Ezio smiled. "I know," he said. "You're my twin."

"I'm sorry your what?" Morgen said. "No, no that can't be right because I don't remember having one of those." She tucked the arm with the flowers under the other, holding her free hand up and tapping her lips in thought. Morgyn's copies always came out female, of course, and most of the time they were genuinely female. Once in a while, they found one that turned male with magic, but those were always as agender as Morgyn was, not male.

This one was female, for sure, but none of them had ever forgotten who Ezio was. Ezio was as engrained in Morgyn's copies as in Morgyn.

"We're twins, I promise," Ezio said.

"No, I'd remember that," Morgen insisted. "I would definitely remember that."

"Look at me," Ezio said. Morgen glanced up at him. "What else would I be?"

Morgen blinked once, then twice, and then laughed. "A figment of my imagination~! Like most things around here. Nothing here is real, you know that right? My, you're awfully talkative for something that doesn't exist."

"C'est reel," Ezio said. Oh yes, it was very real indeed.

Morgen blinked at him like he'd spoken Chinese, and then blinked again and laughed. "Bless you."

"Vous ne comprenez pas?" Ezio asked.

The way Morgen looked at him told him nope, she did not understand at all. Well, that answered that question.

"I have something to do," Ezio said. "So I'm going to go now."

"Go where?" Morgen asked. "There's nowhere else to go but here. No one comes in, and no one goes out."

"Right… I just want some water," Ezio said.

"Oh! Oooh, of course! Well, have fun!" Morgen happily went to twirling around in circles, and Ezio backed to the door, opening it and stepping back into the building. What the _fuck_ …

"Hey Ezio?" a feminine voice asked.

Ezio looked over to find Emilia walking towards him. "Yeah?"

"Did you come in the gate from Glimmerbrook?" she asked.

"No," Ezio answered. He'd used a Glimmerstone, of course, but that was in and of itself a difficult task anyway. Of course, Ezio didn't try using the spell. He wasn't sure if it'd work or not, but at the time he was more concerned about using magic when he didn't have to. It did tend to strain his heart unnecessarily.

"Well, the gate's not working anymore," Emilia said.

What did she mean the gate wasn't _working_ anymore? Ezio didn't even ask anything, his gaze hardening and he bolted past her and down the stairs, taking them two and a time, across the centre courtyard with the floating candles, out the door. Ezio froze, and could only stare at the gateway. It was standing, but the shimmers of colour were not there anymore. It was just an archway.

_No one comes in, and no one goes out._

"Ezio, you can get this thing working again, right?" Emilia asked from behind him.

Honestly, he had no idea. But he'd better try. Ezio didn't say anything at first, reaching behind him and taking her hand, and then pulling out his Glimmerstone. _Please don't fail me now_ … the spark alighted, blue light spilled onto the stone under them… and then nothing.

"No!" Ezio roared. "Not today!"

"We can find another way-" Emilia started.

Ezio shook his head. "If we wait too long we may get stuck here," Ezio said. "And whatever the hell that is may become too strong for any of us to overcome."

"What about Simeon and L?" Emilia asked.

"They're going to have to figure it out themselves, I can only take you," Ezio answered, dropping his Glimmerstone back in his pocket. "Arise now and answer my call!" He held one hand out, his skin beginning to sparkle and shimmer with reflected light as a slight dusting of frost coated his skin. _Just like it did with her_. A swirl of greenish energy snaked around his wrist. For a moment, nothing happened. The trees began to shake, the leaves moving in a breeze that wasn't there. Shimmers of cyan light swirled up from the flagstone, twisting around the stone archway that used to be the portal to Glimmerbrook. Flickers of reds, greens, and blues, a sparkle of white and gold, joined the cyan lights.

"When this opens, you'll need to go through it immediately, do you understand?" Ezio said.

"Yes, okay," Emilia answered.

The lights and colours converged, and reformed the portal in the archway. "Go!" Ezio said, shoving Emilia towards it. The woman darted for it, Ezio right behind, trying to keep his control of the spirits for as long as he could hold it, but the screeching was getting louder in his head and the headache was becoming worse. Ezio dove in after Emilia, clenching his teeth from the effort it took to control the energy as it twisted and turned and let out in Glimmerbrook. Emilia let out an indignant squawk as she hit the stone at the top of the waterfall in Glimmerbrook, and then Ezio nearly slammed into her.

The archway trembled, the colours vanished, breaking into small little lights that sank into the stone. Ezio took a moment to stare at it and breathe. Emilia did the same.

"What just happened?" she asked, after a long moment.

"I… think we just got locked out of magic realm." The question remaining was… how? Never mind. Maybe it didn't matter. Fuck magic realm. "Morgyn," Ezio whispered, and stood up and disappeared in a burst of gold light.


	11. Forget Your Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is HARD. Non-con ahead. I tried not to make it too obvious, almost triggered myself actually that wasn’t fun, anyway, just fair warning. It’s the last scene. Actually, like all of it is hard because the aftermath is about as friggin bad. Also, I really needed the cuteness of the footer image. Like, really.  
> Infra-Red, Placebo

He had no idea what he was going to do. Ezio settled down on the floor beside the bed, one arm resting on it, watching Morgyn sleep. Mayor moved over and laid down on one of his ankles, and together they stood watch over the blond idiot that had no idea everything had just irrevocably changed. His hand moved, gently running Ezio's fingers through Morgyn's hair. After a moment, his fingers began to loose sparkles of golden magic, weaving spells into the blond strands.

Ezio hadn't used defensive magic in so long, he almost didn't recognise what it felt like. He had no idea what he was fighting here, had no idea what had even just _happened_ , and it was difficult to fight enemies you couldn't see, didn't know. Ezio was going to be fighting blindly, and until he knew exactly what was going on, it was going to be difficult to make the right moves and the right choices. He knew that much.

Of course, he wanted to immediately go looking for Aine, but to be honest, he didn't know where to even start on looking for her. It didn't really matter, either. It was possible she was involved, yes, but maybe going straight for Aine wasn't a smart idea, either. Ezio needed to be making smart choices. Diving headlong into trying to take down Morgyn's mentor when there were times he had a little trouble taking _Morgyn_ down, probably wasn't on the list of smart ideas. On the other hand, he'd learnt since then. And a necromancer was a serious threat to another necromancer. That went both ways, though. Just like he was a serious threat to her, so too was she a serious threat to him, and in that sort of situation, he'd have to make sure he was the one that got the upper hand.

No, that was too dangerous and he needed to be here because Morgyn was too impulsive. As Ezio's fingers wove spells into Morgyn's hair, he could sense _something_ fading away. It was almost the sense of wrongness, but it felt a little different. It fading would make it difficult to figure out what was, but neither did he want Morgyn half crippled over it, so he kept working.

Come to think of it, Morgyn _was_ really impulsive. And it was entirely possible that the idiot would try to dive into this one headlong screaming geronimo. Magic realm, and Simeon and L for that matter, meant a lot to the blond, and while Ezio wouldn't say they weren't important to him, the fact was Morgyn was more so. Right now his main concern was keeping Morgyn out of the grasp of whatever the hell had just gotten to magic realm. The captain went down with the ship. Just not this particular captain.

Well, Morgyn wasn't going to hear about this, then. It was quite easy to simply not tell the blond anything, and whenever the truth would've come out naturally if Ezio hadn't interfered, then that'll be when Morgyn learnt about it. Ezio wasn't saying anything, at least not until he had a better idea of what was going on, or the universe gave him no other choice, whichever happened first.

Caleb had gone back across the hall, and set to making consomme. With any luck, this would be just like Morgyn had simply had a cold, and everything would go back to normal. At least, in Morgyn's life. Ezio had some digging around to do, and maybe a few people to talk to. Actually, he wasn't even sure where to _start_ , but he guessed he'd better be figuring something out if he wanted to try and figure things out before Morgyn figured out there was something wrong.

The door opened, and then closed. Ezio glanced up to find Drake shuffling over and sitting down next to him. Neither of them said anything, for a moment, and truthfully, Ezio wasn't sure _what_ to say anyway. Eventually, Drake cleared his throat.

"How's everything?" he asked.

Ezio shrugged. "Morgyn's been sleeping since I got back, so I'm not really sure."

Drake snorted. "I meant you. How are you?"

Oh. Well he guessed that answer was a little different, but then, Ezio wasn't sure how he was. Drake had wandered in and Ezio had gotten nervous for some reason (some reason, he said). Truthfully, Ezio couldn't wait until this awkward stage was over with, because he really didn't like it very much. "I don't know," he said. "This is… messier than it looks like."

"You went to magic realm, right?" Drake asked.

"I did." Ezio almost wondered how he knew that, but Glimmerstones activating had a certain feel to it, so he supposed Drake just sensed his Glimmerstone doing its thing.

"They didn't have any other ideas?"

Nope, just a lot of Morgen having no idea who he was, not speaking French, and Simeon saying things and forgetting them. That was curious behaviour, too. It still pointed towards some kind of mental tampering, either that or time manipulation, but one of these things was much easier to accomplish than the other was. What was curious was that _Simeon_ was affected, and he was a sage. A quiet sage that was often sad about something (life, basically) and out in the garden, but he wasn't exactly _weak_. Ezio's hand stopped loosing magic into Morgyn's hair, just petting the blond instead.

So that left the question of who, or _what_ , could be strong enough to affect a sage like this. Presumably through the All's barrier, too.

"Drake, something's wrong," Ezio said quietly.

"Well yeah, I can see that," Drake answered, nodding at Morgyn.

"No, I mean…" Ezio gently nudged Mayor off his ankle, stood up, and, though he hesitated, he took Drake's hand and led him out into the living room. He didn't want Morgyn waking up, pretending to be asleep, and hearing this. "I mean, really wrong. I got there, and everyone was a little off, and then the gate broke down, I had to use necromancy to get around it. The gate just stopped working. Even Simeon was acting weird. I don't even know where to start in fixing this, and _don't_ tell Morgyn."

"Morgyn's a sage, Ezio," Drake argued.

"I know, but Morgyn's also impulsive and doesn't think ahead far enough," Ezio said. "Until we know what it is we're up against, I don't want Morgyn going back to magic realm, or trying to deal with this the wrong way. Morgyn's basically the only sage left." And that was unfortunate, but it was what it was.

"Okay," Drake said, breathing out. "So what's your plan?"

"I have no idea," Ezio answered. "I don't know where to begin here, like I guess I can go bother the Essairs, but this seems like a stupid thing to bother them about."

"They may be the only ones that have answers, though," Drake said. "Or at least they should be able to point you in the right direction."

Ideally, at least. Kassander had a habit of knowing more or less everything, too, so he could be invaluable for information on where to start on this. There was perhaps also the mystery book, but Ezio didn't know that he trusted it very much, even now. Maybe especially now.

As he thought, Ezio realised he'd never let go of Drake's hand. Quickly, he let go, and then backed away a step. Drake looked surprisingly disappointed, somehow.

"Sorry, just," Ezio's hand raised, pressing against his head. "I'm a bit off right now."

"It's fine," Drake answered. "If I can help, somehow, just ask. We're still friends, Ezio."

Ezio looked up at him, and smiled. So they were. Ezio glanced back down at the floor, and then his gaze flicked back up to Drake. "I'm sorry, by the way," Ezio said.

"What for?" Drake asked, looking genuinely confused.

Ezio shrugged, turning towards the kitchen. "I just… I know nothing actually changed, I just have to… figure it out in my head, or process it or something, I don't know, it's stupid and I'm sorry this messed everything up."

"It's okay," Drake said. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?"

"Yes," Ezio said. And then the way his heart squeezed told him, "No. I don't know. Ugh. I'm sorry."

"Hey, you still don't have to apologise," Drake said. "We'll stay this way for now. And if you do want me to give you some space, just ask."

Ezio smiled. "Thank you." He should've expected that Drake would understand. He always did.

* * *

Just out of curiosity, Ezio went through the mystery book. Or rather, he tried. Strangely, he found that a lot of the pages weren't in a language he couldn't read, they were _blank_. He wasn't so sure what that was all about, but he supposed it didn't matter too much. Ezio pulled a notebook out from his pile of notebooks for school, and started making little notes of everything that he was sensing, and theories that he had, trying to make sense of any of this, but he knew that it'd be a while before anything began to come together. He needed answers, and currently his biggest issue was that he had no idea where to _get_ those answers.

Actually… Ezio scribbled something into his notebook, and leaned back against the couch. _Keisha_ , he'd written. She was the only sage that _wasn't_ crazy and also wasn't in magic realm left that he could think of, besides Morgyn. She may have some ideas that he didn't, but then he also wasn't entirely sure where to find _her_. She'd lost her magic, so it was maybe next to impossible to find her through magical means. Unless…

Ezio stood up, and shuffled across the dining room to the bedroom. Quietly, he popped open the door. Morgyn was still asleep, thankfully (the blond hadn't been sleeping since the headache became a problem, it'd seem), so Ezio knelt down. "Mayor," he said. "Mayor, come here."

The cat eventually scuttled over from the bed, where he was still watching over Morgyn, to the door. As he scooted out the door, Ezio closed it, and followed the cat. "I think it's time you became a familiar," he said.

Mayor's ears twitched, and the cat tilted his head.

Ezio smiled, murmuring the words and raising the energy. He was already a little tired from that necromancy stint, but it wasn't a dangerous sort of tired yet. The magic flowed through him, and across the floorboards to Mayor Whiskers. And it took a moment, but, Ezio could feel a slight _click_ in the back of his head. Mayor's ears turned up, and Ezio shifted the energy.

Coloured lights began to fall from Mayor's fur. Ezio smiled. Then, he knelt down and held his hands out. Mayor jumped up and put his front paws in Ezio's hands, and for a long moment, they simply stared at each other, Ezio focusing on Keisha and what she looked like the last time he'd seen her. He didn't know scents, not like a cat would, but he hoped it was enough.

Mayor eventually unleashed a screech and went to the door. Ezio opened it, and Mayor ran off towards the staircase. Ezio went back into the apartment, closing the door, and shuffling to the bedroom, and then to the window. Soon enough, there was a trail of lights making its way down the street, and Ezio could only hope Mayor had a little luck. She was the only other idea Ezio had for figuring out what was going on and fixing this mess.

A knocking sound came from the front door, so Ezio went back out, and pulled the front door open.

"One pot of consomme, here you go," Caleb said, holding up a large pot.

"Oh, smells good, Ezio said, stepping away from the door and letting Caleb in. The vampire went over to the kitchen and set the pot down on a counter. Ezio closed the door, and then settled down at the dining room table.

"How's Morgyn doing?" Caleb asked softly, like he was afraid to, shuffling around the kitchen to make up a bowl.

"Sleeping," Ezio said. "Quite soundly, now, actually."

"That's good," Caleb said, loosing a relieved sigh. "What do you think's wrong?"

"Probably just a nasty cold," Ezio said, shrugging. Even if he _did_ trust Caleb, which, to be fair, he did, he wasn't sure he wanted to be the asshole that made Caleb Vatore keep secrets from Morgyn. If he asked either of the Vatores for help, it'd be Lilith. Simply because he probably just couldn't do that to Caleb.

Caleb frowned. "So what's the wrongness?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ezio answered. And he still didn't know what it was, so it wasn't like that was a _lie_. "One thing at a time. For now, my main concern is just making sure Morgyn's okay."

"Yeah, sounds like you," Caleb said, snorting, and then the vampire handed him a bowl of consomme.

"I'm fine," Ezio said.

"No you're not," Caleb answered. "Your blood sugar's low and I don't remember you eating today."

Ezio looked at him funny. Why was he paying attention to Ezio's blood sugar and when he ate last?

"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Caleb asked.

Ezio blinked, and then laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did," he said, but he reached out and took the bowl.

Caleb smiled appreciatively, and then settled down across the table from him. "How's your life going?" he asked.

Ezio looked up at him, and then shrugged. "Fine I guess," he said. Well, maybe things weren't _so_ fine, but close enough, he thought.

"You just seemed a little nervous, and your anxiety keeps spiking off and on," Caleb said. "So, I thought I'd just ask."

Oh. Yeah, it would just be his luck that Caleb could sense that. Which meant, most likely, Drake could, too. Damn it. "I just… Morgyn decided to show me, not just tell me, that Drake is attracted to me. And now I have to figure out how to deal with that."

"You didn't know?" Caleb asked.

"No, not really," Ezio answered. "I knew he cared about me, I just didn't think it was actual attraction, if that makes sense."

Caleb snorted, resting a hand under his chin. "Yeah, I don't know how he manages to hide it the way he does," Caleb said. "He's way better at it than I am, that's for sure. I take it Morgyn apologised, too?"

Ezio nodded. "Yeah, not long before I came and got the idiot's clothes from you."

"That's good then," Caleb said. "Morgyn was pretty sure you were never going to speak again. I'm glad that was wrong. One of you without the other just isn't right, you know?"

Ezio snorted, smiling somewhat lopsided. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

* * *

Morgyn was sleeping late this morning, but Ezio didn't expect much else. He didn't sleep well that night, his mind being too preoccupied with trying to think up any other potential leads on this magic realm situation. He supposed, he could also return to Glimmerbrook and see if he could get anything off the portal at the top of the waterfall, that might have _some_ clue or another. It also may not.

Ezio was seated at the dining room table. He'd turned the coffee pot on a few minutes ago, but he wasn't actually sure when Morgyn would wake up, and honestly, whether Morgyn _would_ wake up or not. Since Caleb had brought over the entire pot of consomme, it would be a lot easier to set it on the stove and heat it up. Ezio didn't mind it any, but he hoped Morgyn would be feeling better today. Ezio had found Morgyn's class schedule, and thankfully the idiot didn't have to go to class until this afternoon. Still, Ezio didn't want Morgyn missing the first classes, that probably wouldn't do much to endear the blond to any of the professors on that list.

Somewhere between the sports section and the weather, his phone vibrated against the table. Ezio frowned a little, but he reached over and picked it up. Cassandra's picture popped up on his phone screen when he turned it on.

 _Was just thinking about you and thought I'd say something. I hope you're having a good day._ ♥

Ezio smiled slightly, and then tapped the reply button.

 _I hope you are, too. Are you at the gallery today?_ She was usually at the Casbah Gallery, or across the street from it, selling her paintings. That was where they'd met, the Casbah Gallery. Turned out, twenty-something girls arguing with museum employees was very attention-grabbing.

_I am, yeah. Low traffic today, so I probably won't be here long._

After a moment of debating, Ezio picked his phone up, went into the bedroom to go through his dresser and get a pair of pants, something that didn't look like he'd just rolled out of bed, went into the bathroom to change, grabbing a light jacket on the way, and then he transportalated to an alleyway very close to the gallery. He'd teleported there several times before. Ezio shuffled out of the alley, peeking around the corner this way and that, and then found where Cassandra was. She had a little table set up and was sitting down at it. She didn't seem to be garnering a lot of attention, so apparently it was indeed low-traffic today. That was just as well. It meant they had more time to talk.

Ezio shuffled over there, shrugging the jacket on, and then stopped right beside her.

"Oh!" Cassandra started slightly, and then looked up at him. "Oh, it's you. I mean it's you, wait, if I knew you were coming I would've brought another chair-"

"It's okay," Ezio said, laughing slightly. The pressure in his head, just behind his eyes, seemed to melt away, and suddenly he could breathe easier. It was like somehow she took the weight off him just by being around. He didn't know what that meant. Well, his heart did, maybe. His head would figure it out eventually.

"Here, you can have mine-" she said, starting to stand up.

Ezio reached over and gently nudged her back down into her seat. "No, seriously, it's okay," he said. "I can stand for a bit, I've been on my butt all morning."

Cassandra made a face, but she didn't try to get back up. "Okay," she said.

"Besides, I wanted to look at your paintings," he said, shuffling over to the display board she had them on, his boots tapping audibly on the walkway. In a few days or so, maybe a week, the spring rains would start. Ezio didn't dislike spring, but it always felt like winter didn't last long enough to him. Of course it did.

Cassandra watched him with an almost tangible apprehension, like she really cared what he saw when he looked at the board. He tried not to think about it too much, and simply looked from one painting to the other. Mostly, she did abstract work, but once in a while, you'd find a very interesting monster or two in them.

One caught his eye, a swirl of colour and darkness, and it almost reminded him of the darkness that was always there when he saw Makana. He glanced at Cassandra, and then back to the painting. But the more he stared at it, the more sure he was that he wanted that one. Grey eyes flicked down to the price tag under it, and then he took the painting off the board, reaching into a pocket and dropping money into Cassandra's lap.

"Again?" she said, squeaking slightly in surprise.

"Of course," Ezio said, smiling. "I like your paintings. They're almost as pretty as you are."

Cassandra turned about the colour of a tomato, and Ezio smiled.

"Sorry," he said. "That was very forward of me."

Cassandra shook her head. "No, it's okay, I just wasn't expecting that."

"I forgot to ask, by the way, if maybe you'd be up for dinner with me sometime?" Ezio asked quietly.

She spent so long staring at him, Ezio almost took it back, but then eventually she nodded, rather enthusiastically.

Ezio smiled. "Okay," he said. "I'll um. We'll make plans later."

"Okay." Cassandra went quiet, chewing at her bottom lip for a moment. "So, has your day been okay?"

"Yeah," Ezio answered, shifting his weight, making sure he wasn't leaning on the canvas. "Just a little worried. Morgyn's by and feeling a bit under the weather. I came by mostly to try and get my mind off it for a while."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," she said. "Who's Morgyn?"

Oh, right, "Ah, my twin," Ezio answered.

"Brother or…?"

"Just, my twin," Ezio said. "Morgyn's agender, and I don't use any gendered words, but you can use masculine ones."

"Wow, how do you avoid using those?" Cassandra asked.

"A lot of work and some occasional rewording," Ezio said. "It's second nature to me now, almost. Just takes some practice that's all. I've been doing that since we were kids. Like, way before Morgyn even figured out what being agender is, let alone that the dolt is agender."

Cassandra smiled. "That sounds kind of nice," she said. "But I guess twins are a little closer than siblings usually are."

Ezio shrugged. "I've never had a sibling that isn't Morgyn, so I don't know."

"My little brother, Alex, and I are kind of close," Cassandra said. "But there are times when I don't really understand him, and I'm sure he doesn't always get me either. … is Morgyn really sick?"

Ezio shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Morgyn's been sleeping since yesterday. I just worry a lot, I guess, but Morgyn's not the cautious one of us, so to say. Actually, the idiot's really bad at self-care." Well, so was Ezio, to be fair about it, just in a slightly different way.

"Oh, I see," Cassandra said. "I'm sorry, that must be kind of difficult."

Ezio snorted. "Technically, I'm almost disabled, so I got used to this a long time ago, this waiting thing. It's just a little different when it's not me everyone's waiting for, I guess. It'll be okay." Yeah, but he had no idea what to do if it wasn't, and for that matter, little idea of what to do if it _was_.

Cassandra didn't say anything, just silently took his hand in hers. The tension in his shoulders relaxed. She didn't say it, but he could sense it. It felt like, it was okay to be worried. How did she do that, anyway?

Well, maybe that one would have to remain one of her many mysteries, at least, for a little longer. Ezio smiled, slightly, and then shuffled over to her, sitting down on the pavement, and laid his head on her leg.

She was starting to feel like home, too.

* * *

Morgyn had woken up long enough to eat something, and then went right back to lying down. Fortunately, the dork only missed two classes, and they were busy going over the syllabus. It was still early, and Morgyn still had time to make a decent impression on the professors, which would probably go a long way in getting through university.

Ezio was almost done. This was his last term, and then he was done, and he kept thinking about it because it was a decent motivator. He didn't want to get this far and then decide to quit and give up, but sometimes he was a little tempted to do just that.

Morgyn was lying against his side, curled up against him, while he sat with Drake's laptop and typed his term paper. Drake was out in the living room using a good old fashioned pen and paper to write, but he preferred to do it that way sometimes. Ezio wouldn't claim to understand why, but he supposed the why, exactly, didn't really matter anyway. It was more about what Drake was most comfortable with, and Ezio couldn't really say what that was anyway.

He was having a lot of trouble focusing on his term paper, though. The painting he'd bought from Cassandra was hanging on his wall, now, next to the other three that he'd bought since he'd met her. His eyes kept wandering back to it, but his mind kept thinking about magic realm. Mayor Whiskers hadn't come back, but he didn't suspect the cat would be back quite _that_ quickly. He did hope that Mayor would have the sense to come back if he got sick or couldn't find enough food or something. Mayor was a street-savvy cat, so Ezio wasn't really _that_ worried, but he was still worried.

And what if he never found Keisha, and never came back? No, that wouldn't happen. Ezio could summon him back here, if he felt like he needed to, which he'd give Mayor a few days before he made the cat come back. No, what was more concerning was, what if Mayor didn't find Keisha, just in general? Because then he'd have to come up with another plan to figure out what was wrong in magic realm and how to fix it. He supposed he could fall back on the gate that was on this side. But then that may tell him absolutely nothing and then he'd be right back here and _ugh_! There should be some kind of a 'here's what to do if you get randomly thrown out of magic realm and the gates stop working' guidebook.

Actually, there might be… magic realm had a number of spirits in it, that was how he'd gotten the gate working again long enough to himself and Emilia out.

Oh, come to think of it, _Emilia_. Ezio frowned to himself, tapping his thumb rapidly against the side of the laptop, and then he reached around Morgyn, grabbed his phone, and went looking for Emilia's number. They were on decent terms, and Ezio helped her out with things Morgyn couldn't explain sometimes. Minerva was awfully pushy about Emilia getting a handle on magic and quickly, like, before the wedding. Something about a Charm couldn't be so bad with spellwork or whatever, Ezio had kind of tuned it out.

Ah, this one was her. Or at least, he hoped it was. _Hey Emilia? Do me a favour, and don't tell anyone about what happened in magic realm. Most especially, not Morgyn._

It was a few minutes before she answered. _I can do that. I tried to tell Minerva, but she didn't believe me anyway._

That was odd. Minerva would've been really interested in that, so it was strange that she hadn't taken any interest in it. Ezio shook his head, more to himself than anything. _Do you know where I live, by chance?_

_Nope. You didn't tell me._

_Good. Have a good night._

Ezio set his phone down on the night stand, and leaned back a little more. He still wasn't sure where to start looking for answers if Keisha fell through, and the wrongness could be just about anything. With magic realm cut off from him, he couldn't easily figure out where _that_ was coming from, though it _was_ stronger _in_ the realm. That was a curious thing, and maybe something to keep in mind. But, as long as Emilia didn't know where his apartment was, then she couldn't accidentally tell anyone that didn't need to know where Morgyn was right now.

He didn't know if whatever was after magic realm would be after Morgyn, of course, but it stood to reason. Morgyn was the last sage that wasn't in the realm, and it was entirely possible that something that wanted the realm would want the sages. They were strongest in the realm, and the realm was strongest with them in it. That was how it worked, a kind of symbiotic relationship.

Come to think of it, just damage to magic realm _could_ theoretically be causing Morgyn's symptoms, because Morgyn was intrinsically tied to the realm in a way no one really understood anymore. That symbiotic relationship had been established millennia ago, and none of the witches that had been alive then had really left records of how it worked. If Morgyn's issues were stemming from damage to magic realm, then sooner or later, Morgyn would figure out where it was coming from. Of course, Ezio didn't know if Aine had taught Morgyn how to tell when it was the realm that was having problems and not the sage. Actually, he wasn't sure if the sages even _knew_ that anymore, it was entirely possible that this knowledge had been lost to the sands of time the same as everything _else_ about the realm.

What did they even know about their own home, anyway? As Ezio was figuring out, about fucking _nothing_ , and the realisation was a little uncomfortable to have.

Ezio drew a breath in, and then shoved the laptop down his legs. It wasn't like he was paying any attention to his term paper right now anyway. Of course, he wasn't a sage. Maybe he shouldn't even be messing with any of this because quite frankly, it wasn't his problem. And it wasn't like Morgyn had done literally fucking anything for him recently, so why was he doing Morgyn favours?

That wasn't fair. Ugh. Morgyn was busy, of course the dolt didn't have time to be out here with him doing him favours, and like that was the reason why Ezio did anything for Morgyn anyway. Okay, now that he apparently had gotten the minor selfish thought out of the way… Ezio reached over and picked his phone up, typing out a couple notes to himself, and then set it back down. Whatever he'd done to Morgyn had managed to put the sage to sleep, and maybe the blond needed it. Hopefully, everything would start to make sense tomorrow, because Ezio was kind of slamming his head into a brick wall at the moment.

* * *

He was running. If he remembered this hallway right, marble floors, columns every so often, candles in frosted glass wall sconces against blue wallpaper, all he had to do was turn the corner at the end, and it would lead out into the garden. Something hurt, but he couldn't immediately identify what, and it was confusing, but Ezio didn't think about it too hard.

"You can't run from me," a voice said, and the sound of it made Ezio's heart leap into his throat, and he almost devolved into a panic. No, he had to keep running. He had to keep moving, he couldn't stop.

His leg, it was his leg that hurt, and judging by the sensation he was getting from it, he was going to assume it was broken. That was making it very difficult to run, but he couldn't stop. He could see the light from the door that went outside on the floor. He was so close, just a little further-

A sharp pain shot up his arm, and Ezio screeched. Someone behind him grabbed him by the neck, pulling him backwards, and then he hit the bed. Some corner of his mind registered that this was a strange transition, but it didn't quite register. Instead, what registered was light blue eyes, staring at him from a pale face, hovering inches above him. He couldn't quite make out the details, but neither did he _try_ to, before he was screaming and kicking.

The hand around his throat tightened. It took a few pulls, but Ezio realised both his arms were pinned down by something else. He could feel it, and desperately did not want to, as a hand trailed down his side, over his hip. An almost-caress that instead set his nerves on edge. The sharp pain up his backside hid the feel of someone else in him, but he knew what it was.

"Don't, please-" he whispered around the tears in his throat, and lips met his own. There was no love there. Ezio didn't think Jean _could_ love.

"You will always be mine," Jean answered. "Even when I am gone, I will never leave. I will always live right here, Ezio, right here in your head, where you can never hide from me. Remember it. You are _mine_."

Another sharp pain shot up his arm, and then it felt like something hit his side, but Jean hadn't moved, and then suddenly he was shoving the coffee table towards the television stand, fighting against the blanket he'd fallen asleep with. The sound of his own screaming eventually registered, as he got loose of the fabric and stood up, panting heavily, crying so hard the whole world had become one big formless blob and he didn't care. He could still feel it, he could feel Jean in him, touching him, he could feel the lingering traces of him on his skin, and before he knew what he was doing, he was trying to pull the feeling of Jean out of his skin, and there was pain.

"Ezio," someone said, but he didn't register it, the sound of his heartbeat loud in his ears, you will always be mine, mine, _mine_ -

"What happened?" another voice asked.

"Just, go back to sleep," the first said. "I've got this one. I think."

"He's bleeding everywhere-"

"I know, just, go back to sleep, I don't want to overwhelm him and you can barely see straight."

Ezio couldn't hold still, wringing his hands, waving them in the air, crying hard enough that he couldn't breathe, it felt like he was dying and at the moment, that would be welcome, he had to get away from it. Away from what, he had no idea, Jean, this, everything, where was he? What year was it? Never mind, it didn't matter, he backed into the wall, a loud shriek unleashed and he jerked away from it, fell to the floor with a loud crashing sound, and stared at the wall. There was red smeared across the paint, left behind from where he'd touched it, but it didn't register what that meant.

It was so loud. His fear was so loud, he couldn't think around it, he couldn't breathe-

"Ezio…" one of the voices said again. Ezio registered that it was someone talking to him. "You're safe, Ezio. Everything will be okay."

"No, he's still in my head, I can't get him out of my head," Ezio spluttered, curling up and holding his head.

"He's not here, Ezio, he's gone now," the voice answered. After a moment, Ezio recognised that was Drake talking to him, and he looked up at him. Just like everything else, Drake was just a blur, but something in him knew he was right and he was okay. It was okay. Drake was here, everything was just fine.

Drake didn't say anything else, knelt down on the floor watching Ezio as he was. After a moment or two, he held his arms out. Ezio's breath was still coming in rapid, short bursts, he couldn't make anything out, had no idea which side of the living room he was even on, didn't even care. His hands slid out of his hair, and waved in the air, but then he scooted across the floor, and clung to Drake.

Drake always made it better, Drake could make it better again.

"Breathe," Drake said softly, but it was more the sound of his voice that Ezio was paying attention to, the sound of him breathing beneath Ezio's ear, he needed _something_ else to focus on, anything, he almost didn't even care what. Just slightly, he could feel something playing with his hair, probably Drake, but he was still talking, mumbling words that may or may not even make any sense in context, but were _something_ besides the roaring in Ezio's head.

And he cried, for so long his throat felt dry and raw, and slowly, the memories of Jean faded away again, drowned out by Drake talking to him.

As Ezio's breathing slowed down, and his heart rate became less rapid, Drake leaned over. "Let me see your arms," he said, softly.

"Why?" Ezio asked, looking up at him.

"You made yourself bleed," Drake answered. "I can feel it soaking into my shirt."

Ezio squeaked, immediately letting go and backing away.

"I don't mind," Drake said. "I just don't want it to get infected, that's all."

Ezio took a few breaths in, still calming down somewhat, and wordlessly held his arms up. The world was still a formless blob, and Ezio didn't care any.

Drake gently took a hold of his hands, and started cleaning the blood off. "You sure did a number this time," Drake said softly.

Ezio didn't say anything, just ducked his head, and started crying again. "Mmmm'sorry," eventually made its way out of his throat.

"Ezio, it's okay," Drake said. "I'm not angry at you." The vampire reached up, brushing away some of Ezio's tears. Finally, Ezio could see what he meant, long, red scratches down Ezio's arms like he'd literally tried to claw Jean out of his skin. It hadn't worked, anyway.

Drake was always saving him, like this. Always knew what to do. Ezio didn't know where he'd be without him. No, maybe he did. If Ezio had never met Drake, he'd have died in France. Yeah, that sounded right.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Drake asked.

Ezio shook his head.

"Okay," Drake answered. "I'll listen, if you ever change your mind, you know that right?"

The tears were still falling, just not as rapidly. Ezio nodded mutely. He knew. But maybe there was a difference between knowing, and doing, because even as he knew it, he still couldn't always bring himself to say anything. And suddenly, he was afraid, all over again, the feeling gripping his heart, and the fear was so strong, the tears almost came thicker for a moment. Afraid that someday Drake wouldn't be here anymore, and Ezio would be alone with the feeling of Jean on his skin and his words echoing in his head and Ezio didn't think he was strong enough to face that alone.

"Are we going to be okay?" Ezio asked, his voice still thick with tears. "I don't wanna lose you."

Drake released a sigh. "Ezio, as long as you still want me here, I will always be here," Drake answered. "But I won't push you into something you don't want. I want you to choose me, too, like I chose you."

Ezio was quiet, watching him, for some reason, because he couldn't see anything again, as the tears welled up and his chest started hurting. He'd have to take a pill later, probably, but right now, he didn't want to let go of Drake. A whine loosed, and Ezio started crying all over again, leaned forward, and rested against Drake's collar bone. Drake, patient as he was, stopped trying to fix his arm, and instead wrapped his arms around Ezio, and just let him cry.

Ezio wasn't sure if he'd actually heard it, or if he just really wanted to, when Drake very quietly whispered, "I love you," into his hair.


	12. Everything That You Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be like two chapters ago, but Morgyn said the shit and Ezio did the thing and Lilith was like “I’m not interrupting this,” and refused to write it until now. So that’s a fun thing.
> 
> I’ve been awake all night again. Yeah. I don’t know when I’m going to bed. At some point. Probably. This was tough to write but it was important to write too, so I did my best. My brain is just not really here.
> 
> Also, I just want to mention/remind everyone, just because the characters think it’s important, doesn’t mean it actually is. It just means they’re dumbasses. I mean. Learning.
> 
> Also 2, very sorry, the Charms are new to me and I'm also still getting a feel for Emilia so their characterisation may be a little wobbly for a bit while they solidify.
> 
> Prayer, Disturbed

Despite following him for several days now, Markus hadn't done anything particularly incriminating. Lilith had been tailing him off and on with the hope that sooner or later, he'd tell her exactly what he was doing here, and what it was that Miss Hell had sent him here for (Lilith wasn't stupid enough to think this had nothing to do with Miss Hell). Lilith's reasons for disliking Miss Hell and wanting to rip her apart were quite simple; Miss Hell turned Caleb. Caleb didn't take it well. That meant, more or less, Miss Hell had hurt Caleb. And that just didn't fly very well in Lilith's book.

Nobody was allowed to make Caleb's life hell except _her_ , okay? And she didn't even tolerate that sort of thing from _herself_ , to be honest.

Lilith had been after Miss Hell's hide since the 1700s when Caleb had first turned. Making buddy-buddy friends with Vladislaus hadn't _necessarily_ been on the list of things to do, but it was more of an incidental side-effect. He was the first vampire she'd found that wasn't Miss Hell, or one of Miss Hell's friends. He wasn't her _favourite_ person, but he could've been worse to have as a sire.

They didn't always agree, but neither did Lilith always disagree with him like some thought. Their relationship was a little more complicated than it sounded like it should be. He was like a cranky grandfather half the time. The other half of the time, Lilith really wanted to wring his neck. It was a whole ordeal that, primarily, Lilith didn't think about too much. The semantics of it had never mattered to her before, that wasn't going to change now. Their strange relationship would simply have to remain strange.

She _was_ aware, if only because he'd told her more than once, that Vladislaus did not necessarily agree with her messing around stalking Markus Crow. Of course, she thought he found her apparent rivalry with Miss Hell hilarious, but that was likely because, well, he was evil that way, to be frank. Conflict of most forms was fascinating and delightful to him, and while Lilith couldn't understand why, she sort of understood the semantics behind finding such things fascinating. It was one part the conflict, perhaps, and another part that he seemed to think they were fighting over which one of them got the joy of being his successor.

It was Lilith. He could try and pretend it was still up for debate, but Vladislaus couldn't stand Miss Hell any more than anyone else could. The fact he'd decided that Lilith was his successor and heir was no secret to anyone.

Most of the time, Markus stayed within the boundaries of Forgotten Hollow. Once in a while, he got a little close to Granite Falls, but for some reason seemed to have troubles being too close to those boundaries. Lilith herself felt a little short of breath near it, and a strong urge to turn back around. Given she wasn't even an _evil_ vampire, she did have to wonder what it would be like if an evil vampire tried to walk in the boundary. Was there some kind of supernatural force driving bad vampires out? That was a curious thing, at least to her it was. There were a lot of things going on and at play here that Lilith barely understood, but she certainly wanted to.

This time, Markus had gotten too close to Granite Falls, but then he'd redirected and seemed to be attempting to go _around_ it. Like what he was after wasn't Granite Falls itself, but something on the other side of it. Lilith quickly tried to remember what all was nearby, but she was coming up with mostly blanks. And then, of course, she remembered that she'd go this way a long time ago, several decades by now in fact, to skirt around Granite Falls and its strange unwelcoming feeling, to make it to Glimmerbrook.

Markus having _any_ business in Glimmerbrook was even _more_ interesting. Lilith made sure to keep to the shadows, and not to follow him at too close of a proximity. So far, he hadn't noticed her presence, but over the years, she'd gotten quite good at masking it. Markus was good, of course, but she didn't think he was good enough to sense her around the masking. It wasn't as strong a masking as it could be, surely some vampire or another would eventually be able to sense around it, or perhaps even a spellcaster could, but it got the job done.

As she followed him into the boundaries of Glimmerbrook, she noticed that he seemed to be looking for something. This was the same as tailing him around Forgotten Hollow. The more Lilith watched and followed him, the more she was quite sure there was a specific reason he was here. She was right, then, and he was definitely up to something. She had very few ideas as to what he could be after, unless for some reason, this had less to do with the situation in the Hollow, and more to do with the spellcasters.

Quite some time ago, if she remembered rightly, the vampires and spellcasters almost ended up at war with one another. Actually, the vampires and spellcasters had almost ended up at war with one another _many_ times over the centuries, and if one should so desire to pit them against each other, it would not be difficult to say the least of it. What exactly the purpose of _that_ would be, that Lilith had no answer for. Unless the purpose was merely for it to serve as a distraction, and of course, such a distraction would be a very notable and large one, and quite possibly last long enough that someone could do just about anything they wanted and no one would necessarily notice.

Lilith considered this, and also considered talking to the Embers, because they might know more about this than she did, but then she looked up again, and Markus was gone. Lilith glanced around, trying to find him, reaching out with her senses, even. He'd just vanished. _Damn_ it, that was the fifth time in the last few days she'd lost track of him.

What was he _doing_ exactly?

* * *

Though it was frustrating and Lilith was irritated, there was no sense in hanging around too long. There were several times over the years when vampires were decidedly unwelcome in Glimmerbrook. The denizens of the quiet little village used to have a notable penchant for setting vampires _on fire_ , and that was the most Emberish thing Lilith had ever heard of, and it started long before the Embers.

If nothing else, maybe she should return to the Hollow long enough to inform Vladislaus of what she was seeing. Then again, he never seemed to care one way or another about what Miss Hell and her cronies were up to. Actually, he seemed to find more amusement in it than anything and mostly left them to their own devices because of the minor chaos they tended to create. Lilith wasn't much one for chaos. She preferred situations and people that she could mostly make sense of and were predictable to at least some extent.

One of the reasons why Vladislaus frustrated her was because he had a slight chaos to him. Sometimes he had patterns and they made sense, but other times he did whatever he damned well pleased. That was all well and good, but it wasn't great for trying to plan around. It was also possible that Lilith simply thought too much.

As she made her way back towards Granite Falls, retracing the path that Markus had taken, she distinctly felt like something was off somehow. It was a strange feeling to get, but she never distrusted her instincts before. She almost wanted to run, but that seemed like a bad idea at the moment. If she hadn't already drawn attention to herself, there was no reason to do so now.

But, the further on she went, the clearer it became that there was someone following _her_ now. She wondered, briefly, if it was Markus, and then began to try and figure out if she could turn the tables and end up following _him_ instead. Of course, that would be much easier if she had mist form, but she still hadn't learnt that particular trick. The longer she sensed the presence behind her, however, the more sure she became that it was a spellcaster.

Lilith glanced up, and then darted to one side, and pulled herself up into a tree, and waited. Soon enough, the spellcaster that was following her came up across the path, glancing around. "I know you're still here," he said. "What have you been up to all this time, I wonder?"

Wait, all this time? She'd only just gotten here.

"Vampires aren't supposed to be snooping around Glimmerbrook, and I don't know what you're so interested in, but this stops now," the man said.

Lilith tilted her head. He seemed to think she was the one hanging around. Well, if she was following Markus, didn't that mean she was _also_ a little too present? Vampires really weren't supposed to be hanging around in Glimmerbrook. (She thought there was some kind of a peace treaty that literally said that, but it'd been a long time now.)

"Come out, demon," the man said, shuffling a little further down the path. "And maybe I won't kill you for being here."

Lilith's eyes narrowed. She had no interest in getting into a scuffle with a spellcaster. Judging by the way he felt, he had a decently strong bloodline, too. That wouldn't be a very good outcome for her, that was for sure. It wasn't like she _couldn't_ handle herself, she could. She simply had no interest in going toe to toe with a spellcaster of his particular calibre. That was not only somewhat dangerous for her, but it would also be very dangerous for him.

As she was debating what exactly to do in this situation, a bright burst of light slammed into the tree branch she was on. Lilith instinctively flipped out of it onto the ground. The man smirked.

"I thought that's where you were," he said. "How about we put an end to this?" Magic pooled at his fingertips.

"I'm not who you think I am," Lilith said, quickly, her hands raising defensively.

"Of course you are!" the man argued. "No other vampires have been around here."

"There's a second one, and I've been following him!" Lilith explained.

"Enough!" The magic unleashed, and Lilith jumped backwards, out of the way, and then to the side. He only fired again. Lilith had no interest in fighting him, not now, maybe not ever, but he seemed determined not to give her any other choice. Instead of debating the situation too much, Lilith turned around, and rocketed off through the trees. He unleashed several curse words behind her, but she kept running.

With any luck, she'd be too fast for him to keep up with and somewhere in between here and the edge of Granite Falls, she'd lose him. He seemed to be using magic to augment his speed, however, because he was keeping up better than she had been hoping. Several times, Lilith had to redirect her trajectory to prevent herself from being hit by ice spikes or bolts of lightning. Whoever he was, he'd learnt from Morgyn pretty well. Unfortunate that Morgyn wasn't here right now, but it was also perhaps for the best that he wasn't.

One hand raised, catching a low tree branch and throwing herself to the side. He hadn't been expecting that, and slid across the grass, struggling just slightly to redirect himself after her. Lilith kept moving, but then realised just ahead of her was the cliff that dropped off into Granite Falls. Lilith quickly raised another hand, grasping the first low branch she could and threw herself a different direction. The man spluttered in irritation, but followed her the same.

Well, maybe she could shake him off her trail if she just ran in circles long enough. Sooner or later, he should get tired. Neither his physical energy, nor his magical energy, could last as long as her own.

* * *

He had more stamina than it seemed like he should. This reality was vexing to Lilith, because it was the only thing she could think of to shake him off her trail. The only other thing to do, she figured, was resort to using mind manipulation; vampire magic was primarily rooted in the manipulation of varying mental processes. Ergo, altering one's perception, memory manipulation, emotional manipulation, and so on. There were just as many vampires that used their abilities for good things as there were those that used them for ill. Lilith was somewhere in the middle of them. She tried to do good with it, but there were times when you just had to knock a bitch out.

Lilith, after all, was the monster, so that Caleb didn't need to be.

By now, they had to have been chasing each other for close to an hour. It probably just felt like a longer amount of time than it actually was, but still. This spellcaster wasn't letting off her trail, and she had no idea what else to do to throw him off. Mostly, she was running, and hoping that something came to mind eventually, some great grand idea. Unless she could somehow get him close enough to the portal that led into magic realm to shove him into it, but she wasn't so sure that was going to work, either.

Continually, she changed direction, choosing a random one every time. As they went, however, she had fewer and fewer choices for changing directions, and suddenly there was a wall of ice in front of her. Quickly, she shifted directions again, but the ice wall zipped that way, too. Seemed the spellcaster had started using his head, and decided to trap her.

Lilith glanced from one of the ice walls, to the other, thinking. How was she supposed to-that was stupid, and Lilith immediately shifted into a bat, intending to fly over the walls and escape the trap. The spellcaster had other plans, throwing a bolt of energy at her. She loosed a screech, slammed into one of the ice walls, and hit the ground, human again.

"I've studied enough about vampires to know how to counter bat form of all things," the spellcaster said, sounding annoyed. "You're kind of cute for a demon."

"Vampires aren't demons," Lilith said.

"Close enough for me," he answered. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I told you," Lilith said, sitting up. "There's a vampire hanging around here and I want to know why he's here."

The spellcaster snorted. "Sure." He had a medium skin tone, a very impressive nose, dark brown hair, and what looked like purple eyes. Maybe it was the lighting. Then again, spellcasters had inbred for a long time and some strange mutations had occurred during that time-frame. If his bloodline was strong enough for Lilith to sense it, he probably had a very interesting and slightly convoluted family tree, but that was none of her business.

"I don't have a reason to lie," Lilith said.

"Oh, all vampires say that, don't they then?" the spellcaster said. "I wouldn't expect any of you to tell the truth, to be sure. Your kind don't seem to have any use for the truth."

"Past a point, however, telling the truth is the only thing that's left to do," Lilith said. "When you get to be my age, it's just easier to be honest. I can't be bothered to remember lies."

"Enough," the spellcaster interrupted, sounding irritated. He didn't bother saying anything else, simply straightened up and threw a lighting bolt.

Instinctively, Lilith raised her arms to shield herself, intending to create a psychic barrier that should theoretically stop the bolt. In the barrier's place, a bolt of psychic energy shot across the space to crash into the lightning. The electrical charge wasn't nearly strong enough to stop Lilith's psychic energy. The second bolt shredded through the first, crashing into the spellcaster and sending him skittering backwards across the dirt with a loud yelp.

Lilith sucked in a breath of surprise; that was exactly why she didn't want to end up fighting with him. She shook her head, more to herself, and then ran over to him, falling beside him. He didn't move. Lilith waited a moment, watching him breathe, at the very least, and then shook him. "Come on, get up," she said. "You're fighting off a terrible vampire monster, right? Monster fighters don't lie down on the job! Unless it's to be funny!"

And, if one asked Lilith, this was not funny.

Lilith raised her hand, holding it over him. It felt like the psychic bolt had done some weird mental damage. Theoretically she could undo it if she just-

A crackling sound interrupted, and Lilith immediately shot to her feet and moved out of the way. Another lightning bolt whizzed past her nose and crashed into a tree.

"Get away from my _son_!" a harsh voice commanded, and an older woman, she looked a good deal like this man but older, darker skin tone, greying hair, and violet eyes, just like his eyes.

"I was _trying_ to _save_ him-" Lilith argued, but the woman snarled at it.

"I don't want to hear any of your pretty little lies," she said.

"Mom, I saw it," a voice called behind her. "Darrel attacked first!" The girl looked a bit like them in facial features, but her hair was black, her eyes grey. She sort of reminded Lilith of Ezio, and some corner of her mind relaxed at seeing her.

"These vampires think they can come and go through our territory as they please, well I say that ends now! Darrel was defending our home, like we all should!"

"I really don't think that's going to help-"

"Oh stop it Gemma, you're young, you'll understand someday," the older woman said, and then she raised a hand and threw magic at Lilith.

Quickly, Lilith jumped backward, moving out of the way. She didn't want to end up in this mess again-

"Run!" the girl, Gemma, cried, and she moved the older woman's arm, redirecting the magic, and then pulled the woman's arm against her stomach, that she couldn't fire again. "GO! Now!"

"But I can-"

"Just go, I can't hold her forever!"

"Gemma let go!"

As Gemma struggled with the older woman, Lilith debated in her head for a moment and then, with a loud shriek of annoyance, turned into bat, and flew away.

"Damn it, Gemma!"

* * *

"What am I supposed to do?" Lilith was saying, sounding very annoyed, as she paced around in circles in Straud manor. Vladislaus was not far, playing a game of chess, and most likely only halfway listening to her anyway.

"It is a tough situation, dear," Vlad said, his tone indicating her assumption he wasn't really paying attention was quite right.

Lilith released a sigh, falling over onto one of the couches and staring at the ceiling. "I could fix it, but something tells me they will have no interest in letting me anywhere _near_ that guy again… what did they call him, Darrel or something…?"

"Darrel Charm, I presume," Vladislaus filled in.

"You know about them?" Lilith asked, looking over at him.

Vladislaus snorted. "Oh sure," he said. "The Charms have a bit of influence in the occult world and were known for their anti-witch-hunter hunting at one point. Ahh, revenge burnings. It was such a lovely time."

Lilith made a face that said exactly what she thought about the mere idea of revenge burning.

"Don't make that face, Lilith," Vladislaus said, tutting under his breath as he moved a chess piece across the board. "You wouldn't want to turn ugly, you'll live forever you know. Forever is a long time to be ugly."

Lilith rolled her eyes. He would know, she supposed. "Well, Markus Crow is hanging around Forgotten Hollow and has been making a strange habit of waltzing into Glimmerbrook's borders," she said. "Isn't there a peace treaty or something that doing that violates? Miss Hell's probably the one telling him what to do in this instance, and I can't tell you what she thinks she wants."

Vladislaus was quiet for a moment, pondering the pieces on the board. "Well, whatever she does with the spellcasters is none of my concern," he said. "The spellcasters are not and have never _been_ on my good side."

"Creating a conflict between the vampires and the spellcasters could be _catastrophic_ on a hitherto unknown level," Lilith argued.

"Hitherto unknown?" Vladislaus repeated, staring at Lilith like she'd grown an extra head. "You move to the city and get into university, and suddenly you can't speak like the rest of us, is that it?"

"Don't get on that again," Lilith said, rolling her eyes.

"You sound awfully high and mighty," he answered.

"I'm taking _language courses_ , Vlad," Lilith replied. "Of _course_ I do."

Vladislaus frowned. "I think your priorities are in the wrong order. Miss Hell isn't any of your concern, nor what she's doing."

"Do you remember the last time we had a conversation much like this one?" Lilith asked. "Those spellcasters are still my friends, and I am still not going to war with them."

"Oh please, you're being very doomsday," Vladislaus said, his expression going flat. "As much as I would quite _enjoy_ it if the spellcasters burned in their own mire, that's neither here nor there. The point is, a full-out war between vampires and spellcasters is highly unlikely. The covens won't move unless threatened, and there are unfortunately for them not nearly enough spellcasters to stand against the covens. Why, I should think just one coven would send them running for the hills, at least if they've any sense whatsoever."

Lilith sighed.

"And furthermore, these spellcaster friends of yours, they've thus far proven to be a little bit less unintelligent than the rest of their species, I should think they'd not participate in such foolishness either." Vladislaus raised an eyebrow. "Unless you think they would," he added.

And truth be told, that was _greatly_ dependent on whether or not someone made the mistake of threatening Morgyn. Theoretically, threatening Ezio would also land everyone in hot magic (ha ha, she made a funny), but there was a chance it wouldn't, slim though it may be. The other way around, threaten Morgyn and you probably would end up with an icicle shoved up your-

"Lilith, you worry too much," Vladislaus said, moving another chess piece. "Things turn out the way they turn out, whether we help them along or not. You'd do yourself many favours by simply letting some of these things go. What did I tell you last time? Let the spellcasters worry about spellcaster problems."

Well, maybe Lilith had a problem with being _nosy_. (It wasn't like there was anything _else_ to do.) Besides, she still wanted Miss Hell's hide. Preferably broiled.

She released a sigh, crossing her arms and sitting up. "What do I do about the spellcaster that I put into a coma?" she asked.

"Eh, what _do_ you do with the spellcaster you put into a coma?" Vladislaus asked in turn. "Quite frankly, nothing of value is lost with one less spellcaster in the world, particularly a Charm. You did good."

Lilith huffed and fell backwards on the couch.

"What, you're not happy?" he asked.

"Of course I'm not!" Lilith said, sitting back up. "I might remind you that we're not all you, and you may like me _sometimes_ , but I'm not your clone or something. I feel bad when bad things happen that I didn't intend for. Hell, I feel bad when bad things happen that I _did_ intend for, because _misery isn't good or fortunate_! The world would be a _much_ better place if we figured out how to stop killing each other!" What the fuck did she know, though?

Vladislaus looked amused, for a moment. "Of course," he said. "Well, you can try and fix it," he paused, moving one of the pieces with a slight _tap_. "But to try and do so would likely not endear you to the Charms very much. Though their name may be Charm, they have very little of it themselves."

Lilith's face fell flat. Yeah, he'd know all about lacking in charm, wouldn't he? "All I did was put him in a coma," Lilith said. "I can fix that in a handful of minutes, I just need the time to."

"Yes well," Vladislaus said, moving another piece, "the problem with mortals, my dear, is often I find they love to suffer and make things difficult for themselves. People like me, we hardly need do anything at all. They create their own suffering, and they revel in it."

* * *

If she was quick about it, perhaps she could figure out how to get in there, fix what she'd messed up, and then get out. Or at least, she could hope so. Lilith sat outside the Charm manor, watching the lights in the windows alternate off and on, trying to decide when was the best time to try going in. Spellcasters had ways of avoiding the call of mortal existence, of course, but she was hoping they'd be frazzled or something enough not to.

She just needed a few minutes in which they were all asleep, and that would be that.

So far, though, there was always at least one light on, and it was starting to get a little grating on her nerves. She had plenty of other things to be doing, but, _she_ was the one that messed up, and she should try and be a little more patient for the sake of making amends for that mistake.

Finally, somewhere around two in the morning, all the lights turned out. Lilith stood up, shifted into bat form, and flew over to the chimney, carefully flapping her way down it into the house. The place was very dark, and looked a bit sparse with the furniture for some reason, but she supposed that helped her see her way around easier. Lilith looked around a bit, and then flew from room to room, until she found the stairs, and then she went up there.

It took a few near misses and almost smacking into the wall a few times, but eventually she found the room she was looking for. He was still alive, at least. Lilith shifted back into human form, quietly slipping over to him, and holding her hand out. She just had to figure out what it was exactly that she'd done, and she could undo it. And for everyone's sake, she hoped it was that simple, and she could manage to escape the house before he decided to turn on her again.

As she poked around trying to figure out how to undo it, the door opened, and a petite blonde girl wandered in, closed the door, and then gasped.

"No, don't," Lilith said, her hand moving away from Darrel. "Please, don't tell anyone I'm here. I just want to fix what I did."

The woman, her hair cut in a bob with bangs, rounded hazel eyes, drew her eyebrows together. "You should go instead," she said, shuffling over to Darrel, and putting herself between him and Lilith.

"Please, I didn't mean to hurt him," Lilith said, trying to explain. "I just reacted and things happened, but I can fix this, I swear. I just want to put it right again."

The woman considered this for a moment, and then shook her head. "That isn't for me to decide anyway," she said. "That's up to Minerva, but if Minerva sees you again she's going to kill you, or die trying to. Just go, however you got in here, go back out and don't come back here."

"Magic can't undo vampire-induced comas," Lilith said. "I am his _only_ hope."

"I can't," the woman answered, unconsciously taking one of his hands in hers. "I can't trust you, not with him. I'm sorry."

"Emilia?" the same, rough-sounding voice the older woman had said out in the hall. "Emilia, is Gemma still awake?"

The blonde woman startled, releasing Darrel's hand and taking Lilith's, pulling her behind the door as it opened.

"No," Emilia said, shaking her head. "I was just talking to Darrel, that's all."

"He can't hear you, you know," Minerva said.

"Well, some say that people in comas can hear what's going on around them," Emilia said. "Maybe he can hear me. I want to believe that."

Minerva shook her head. "Get some sleep," she said, backing away. "Good night."

"Good night," Emilia answered, softly closing the door as Minerva went back down the hallway. She looked sad, staring at the back of the door, and then hazel eyes hardened and turned to Lilith. "You have to go now," she said.

"I came in the chimney," Lilith said, gesturing at the door. "As a bat."

"Vampires _can_ turn into bats?" Emilia asked. Lilith started to answer, but Emilia shook her head. "Never mind, fine, okay." The blonde then turned around, and went over to the window, pulling it up, and opening it into the night. "And I mean it," she said, turning to Lilith. "Don't come back here. I won't always be able to save you from Minerva."

Lilith was quiet, for a moment, before tilting her head slightly. The woman was pretty, the way the moonlight shined in her hair, slight sparkles glistening in her eyes. Lilith could take that pain away, and for a long moment, Lilith seriously considered knocking the woman out, fixing her mistake, and fleeing out the window. But for once, just this time, Lilith didn't want to be the monster.

"Why are there vampires here, Emilia?" Lilith asked, softly.

Emilia looked surprised, and then shrugged. "Who knows?" she answered. "Minerva says that some vampires want out of the covenant, whatever that means, and thinks that magic can get them out of it, but that nothing can. Others want to learn how to use spellcaster magic, or access to the All. Why anyone would want access to the-" Emilia seemed to realise she was saying too much, and shook her head. "Go now."

Lilith released a sigh, glanced back at Darrel. She'd try again later. Emilia may have told her not to come back, but since when did Lilith ever do what she was told, anyway? The vampire turned back to Emilia. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry," she said, quietly, and then shifted into bat form, and flew out into the chilled spring air. Sooner or later, she'd figure out how to get to him long enough to right what had been wronged.

The covenant, though… Lilith was very curious which vampires thought they could escape _that_ , and why they would want to do so to begin with. Vampires weren't _undead_ , of course, that was a myth they spread around to protect themselves, mostly from hunters. Rather, there was another facet of themselves that awakened in their soul, the hollow that lived inside them. It was the presence of the hollow that made them what they were, gave them their powers. To sever the covenant with the hollow was to become less than human, cut off from a part of oneself.

That was why vampirism was eternal. You couldn't kill what was a part of you. So then why would anyone try?


	13. Crann na Beatha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. I don’t know what happened. Except, drama, stress, anxiety, I have physical reactions to stress and anxiety, and basically I couldn’t eat for like half a week because of something that happened. Yeah. I was also spending some time getting Simprovise going again.
> 
> Anyway. I should be starting school again soon but like I haven’t heard anything about it so Idk what they’re doing. Everything’s still a mess because of the pandemic. One of the first schools to reopen just got shut back down again because one of the kids tested positive. Fucking amazing.
> 
> We have six more chapters, and then we’re at the middle of TMA’s rewrite. I can’t wait. I wanna be past here. I wanna be past here so fucking much you have no idea. Lol Also I am super out of it right now, I have no idea if this makes any sense, or if I caught all my typos. Also 2, the Embers' birthday was on the first. I just realised they were born on Lughnasadh. Neat.
> 
> Crann Na Beatha, Adrian Von Ziegler  
> Crann na beatha is Irish Gaelic for tree of life. You say it kind of krawn-nah-bah-hah.

This was getting irritating. He was getting steadily worse, the more days went by. The worse he got, the harder it would be to fix it. Every time Lilith tried getting closer to the Charms, tried to right what had turned out so wrong, something or another got in the way. As it was, she'd been living in this tree outside their manor for the last _week_ or something, and it was getting grating on a level Lilith had no words for.

Okay, she had a few words for it. None of them were terribly kind words.

In any case, at this point, Lilith had to figure out something else to do here. She sat in the tree, idly throwing a knife in the air, catching it, repeat, trying to figure out what there was _to_ do. She could theoretically just go down there, maybe get herself shot at (truth be told, she had a hard time imagining Minerva could actually manage to kill her, just because Lilith was much quicker than the older woman would be), probably not get anything done, and come out of it more frustrated than before. She could keep waiting, and continue to get more frustrated. She could just knock everyone out with a quick psychic wave, though that did sort of run the risk of causing multiple cases of Darrel rather than fixing the one they already had.

Lilith slid down against the bark on the tree branch, crossed her arms, and huffed. This was rather ridiculous, if one asked her, but no one really had. She supposed that was just as well.

"-think it'll get any better," Emilia's voice drifted out of a window from the house. Lilith sat up, and then shimmied down a few branches, tilting her head. Sometimes, they had interesting arguments. Often, they were very circular, and Emilia seemed to be separated from the rest of them in wording. She never seemed to consider herself a part of the 'them' that was the Charms, and neither did the Charms generally use language that implied they considered Emilia to be theirs. Well, Minerva didn't, Lilith should say. Gemma had yet to speak about Emilia in a way that gave her the opportunity to exclude her.

"I don't trust them," Minerva's voice said in return, and Lilith frowned. "Humans are terribly great at messing things up."

"Yes, but it's not like anything _we're_ doing is fixing it," Emilia answered. "I want him back. I want him _back_ , if that means I have to put up with non-spellcasters, then fine. I know I'm more tolerant of them than you are anyway, but… I'd figure we want the same thing for once. Magic doesn't _heal_ anyway, it's not like we have many other choices."

Lilith frowned deeper. What were they discussing, moving him to a hospital? Oh jeez, Lilith didn't like _that_ idea. The only thing that would help him now was a vampire, and admittedly, that vampire did not necessarily have to be _Lilith_ , it'd just be easier, because Lilith caused the damage and could definitely undo it. Finding another master vampire willing to help might be a bit tricky.

Well, maybe Caleb would do it. That was useless semantics.

"In my experience," Minerva said, "the only way to combat vampires is by using vampires. They do something with the mind, but I've never mastered what nor how to reverse it. I don't have any vampire friends, do you?"

"No," Emilia answered. "All the same, they can at least help keep him alive and stable, better than we can do on our own. If nothing else, at least he'll be taken care of until we can find a vampire to fix this."

They _could_ just stop being jerks, and let Lilith _fix it_ , but _no_. That would be _too easy_. Lilith frowned, snorting in annoyance and glancing across the street, before forcing it back down. So far, Minerva hadn't sensed her, though she thought Gemma and Emilia had. Maybe one or the other of them were hiding Lilith's vampirism. She was quite sure that gave off a very notable sensation. Spellcasters had commented on it before. Or perhaps it was something just the _Embers_ could sense, because, now that she was thinking of it, Lilith only remembered Ezio and Morgyn mentioning it. That was weird, in hindsight.

"I suppose you're right," Minerva said. "Fine, we'll move him to a hospital."

"Thank you," Emilia said.

 _Great_ , Lilith thought. _Just what I need, more incidental security around sleeping beauty here._ To say the least of it, her mood was quite sour, but then it'd been quite sour for the last, oh, week or two. At least Markus hadn't been by recently, but it was probably because Lilith was here. She'd be a fool to think he didn't know that.

On the other hand, she did have friends in varying hospitals. It was possible that, with him in one, she'd have a better chance of getting to him, even if only because she talked a doctor friend into distracting Minerva with inane questions, because doctors loved to do that anyway, and Minerva apparently wouldn't know the difference.

* * *

"This is my fault, because I don't want to just knock them out, I guess," Lilith said, sliding further down in her seat on the couch. She'd been complaining about the situation with the Charms for probably a few hours by now, but, Caleb was still listening just as intently as he had been when she'd first started this complaint streak. Caleb was like that, Lilith supposed. But despite all the complaining, Lilith still didn't have any solid answers for it.

Maybe Vladislaus was right, and she should've left well enough alone.

"Knocking someone out can cause damage," Caleb said calmly, shuffling around the kitchen. He was making the Embers food again. By now, Lilith figured he did this sort of thing because he enjoyed making food for someone else, not because the Embers couldn't. Admittedly, there were times when one or the other twin skipped meals because they were too lazy to bother with making anything, and Caleb's insistence on keeping everyone fed came in handy during those times. Come to think of it, that was probably why Caleb still insisted. It was hard to tell when they'd fall into one of those ruts. They never seemed to know.

"Yeah," Lilith said, sighing. "But it's the easiest solution I've got. It's almost the _only_ solution I've got."

"And if you do it, and cause more damage, you're going to really hate yourself," Caleb said calmly.

He was right. Lilith's face scrunched up in mild annoyance, glancing at the wall and crossing her arms. "Maybe I should just walk away from it, then."

"If you do _that_ ," Caleb said, turning around to face her and pointing the wooden spoon in his hand at her, "your conscience will eat you up, and you know it. You can't walk away from this, not now. You stopped being able to do that when you decided this was your problem to fix."

Lilith may or may not have started pouting somewhere in there. He was right, and she knew it, and maybe that was the annoying part of it. It probably was.

Caleb laughed. "Come on, Lilith," he said. "Once you get this worked out, everything will be fine. It just seems like a difficult thing, that's all, but if anyone can figure this out, it's you."

Lilith released a sigh, resting her chin in one hand. "I'm glad you've got so much faith in me."

Caleb shot her a smile over his shoulder. "Of course I do," he said. "You're my sister. There's no one I have more faith in than you."

Lilith's features scrunched up in mild disbelief. "Even Morgyn?"

"Even Morgyn," Caleb said. "Hey, that's what Ezio's for, believing in Morgyn, right? Not that I don't, of course. Just maybe not as much as Ezio has. So, think about it. How do you get around this?"

Lilith frowned slightly. If she relied on psychic energy and rendered someone unconscious to manage it, Caleb was right. She could end up with the same problem all over again, and that wouldn't really solve anything at all, just change the issue slightly. She could try the distraction thing, but in hindsight, it was a slightly awkward idea, considering that her doctor friends? Yeah, they were doctors. And doctors were _busy_.

She didn't have a lot of resources for this. That meant, she had to rely mostly on herself.

"You know," Caleb started, tilting his head thoughtfully, "there are ways around spellcasters."

"Yeah, but I don't know any of them," Lilith said, huffing. "I've never _had_ to."

Caleb snorted, and then laughed slightly. "I _mean_ , we have friends that know a few of those ways."

What was he talking about? Lilith arched an eyebrow, but, then she thought about it, and huffed. "I don't want to bother them for this."

"Well, unfortunately I think this is a situation of you have limited options," Caleb said, looking apologetic. "Either you figure something else out, or this is going to just have to go the way it goes. And we both know that if it goes the way it goes, and the way it goes is a _bad_ way, you're going to hate it. So you may as well go bother someone else to teach you something useful."

Unfortunately, he was probably right. Lilith released a heavy sigh, sitting up a little straighter. "Have you got any ideas about what to do here?" she asked.

Caleb shrugged, turning back to the stove. "There's always mist form," he said. "Nothing can sense you in mist form, save for Kassander. It should be enough to get you right past the spellcasters, and none of them will sense anything. The remaining issue, I suppose, is what to do from there, but you'll think of something, I'm sure. Or maybe one of the Essairs has a better idea. Or, heck, maybe an Ember does."

"I'm _definitely_ not bothering the _Embers_ over this one," Lilith said, her tone quite flat. "They have enough going on right now." Between Morgyn's issues and Ezio's, there was always something going on, she supposed. It made it a little difficult to justify interrupting their lives for her weird vampire drama, despite knowing, in her head somewhere, that Morgyn would be absolutely _thrilled_ to be privy to this particular mess. Morgyn had a love-hate relationship with the Charms, if she remembered right. So did Ezio, for that matter, but she was starting to understand _why_.

Stubborn fucking…

"Yeah," Caleb said. "I guess you're right. Well, if nothing else, the Essairs should be pretty happy to help if they can. Worst that happens is, they say no."

Actually, the worst that happened was, Kassander decided to kill her for some reason, but fortunately, she couldn't think up why he would anyway.

* * *

The Charms were gone now. Of course. Lilith had missed that short opening where she would've been able to figure out which hospital the Charms were moving Darrel to, but she supposed it didn't matter. There were a very small handful of hospitals that were close to Glimmerbrook. For some reason, despite _healing_ magic not being a standard part of the magical repertoire, those spellcasters that had settled at Glimmerbrook didn't see a need, apparently, for a hospital.

Lilith was still debating whether this was brave or very stupid. It was possible that it was both, and that seemed the most likely, really.

Caleb was right. She needed to fix this, or it would continue to bother her, and she knew it. All the same, she still knew this was going to be trickier than she was hoping for. Of course, now she had to decide if she wanted to try _finding_ them first, or if she would rather go straight to the Essairs and learn how to sneak past them. This was a difficult decision mostly because she wasn't sure which one was more prudent. There was no chance that the human doctors with no supernatural powers could manage to _undo_ a vampire-coma, that was for sure. Lilith was most certainly not concerned about that.

Lilith shifted her weight, crossing her arms and turning away from the Charm manor's doorway. What she was _worried_ about was the old lady deciding to be done with it and end his life or something before she could manage to get there and fix this mess. How was it, anyway, that Lilith managed to get into these messy ordeals? She _hardly left the house_! Fate. Destiny. Some odd being's sick idea of a joke…

The truth was, Lilith would never really know.

The woman frowned to herself, one foot tapping rapidly against the cobblestone drive she stood on. One finger matched the pace, tapping against her arm, as she thought. It was hard to make the right choice, here, but perhaps she could also do both at once. If she went after the Essairs and sent someone she trusted to find the Charms for her, she supposed that might be a little more efficient. There was still no telling whether things would work out or not, but she had to try and have faith in _some_ decision or she was never going to make a move at all, and that just wasn't like Lilith in the first place.

As she considered her options, she sensed a now-familiar signature, a certain vampire that had been in and out of here, and _caused_ this whole mess, in the first place. A strange sensation in her chest bubbled up, almost like fire burning in her heart, and Lilith turned into a bat and flew towards the signature. As she got closer, she could tell Markus was skirting just around the edge of Granite Falls.

Lilith turned back, watching him. He circled around the parameter of Granite Falls' protections, careful not to overstep, but he was definitely looking for something, and it was in Granite Falls. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he _was_ trying to get into Granite Falls, but the question was, why exactly…

It didn't matter right now. Instead, Lilith shook her head, more to herself, and threw a blast of psychic energy at him. Markus wasn't expecting it, and skittered across the forest floor, right into Granite Falls' protections. A loud shriek sounded, echoing through the trees, as Markus' clothing caught fire.

He stood up, frantically scrambling out of the protection zone, hurriedly smacking his hand against his clothes in attempt to put himself out. Lilith saw it, probably the same as he did, when _something_ just beyond the trees shimmered to life and then he was on fire. Lilith couldn't deny a little curiosity as to what that was and how, exactly, it worked. She'd never seen magic that operated in that manner, but she could _definitely_ tell that it was magic.

All magic had a very distinct scent. Every spell and technique had its own unique aroma, and being a vampire, Lilith could pick them out. That one? It had no scent at all. So what was it? Likely, Markus had no more idea than she did. Markus didn't spend much time around spellcasters. She kept the question to herself.

Markus turned to her, and bared his teeth. He was out, albeit a little singed along the way.

Lilith arched an eyebrow. "Get out of here, Crow," she said, her tone irritated. "The Charms aren't here to chase you off, and you got us in this mess in the first place. I'll do it for them. I owe you one anyway."

"Tough words," Markus answered, sneering. "You always did try to be the tough one, but sooner or later it'll run out. You can't fight _everything_ , Lilith."

"Of course I can," she answered.

"Someday, something will defeat you," Markus said, raising his arms in a dramatic shrug. "Everyone runs into someone, or _something_ , stronger, sooner or later."

Lilith's eyes narrowed. "I've been fortunate enough not to," she said. "And even if I do, I'll just get stronger than it. It's nice to have challenges and goals."

Markus smirked, stepping further away from Granite Falls. "That doesn't work so well if you're _dead_!"

One of his fists drew back, and Lilith could smell the psychic burst before it left his claws. Effortlessly, she flipped out of the way, landing almost soundlessly. "You wouldn't know anything about defeating me," Lilith said. "Because you _can't_."

Markus snarled and threw another burst at her, but again, Lilith simply flipped out of the way. And then she smirked and fired back.

* * *

"Almost," Sandalio said, just as Lilith gave up and fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Their flooring, surprisingly, was not made of marble, but instead, it was wood, and their manor wasn't as big as it could be. If Lilith remembered correctly, all the splendour and extravagance was in the Drago complex. Lilith had never been inside it, but she'd seen it. The inside of their house, though, was warm, inviting, full of browns and blues, and magical lights everywhere. Both Kassander and Sandalio were spellcaster hybrids, but their magic smelled notably differently than that of the other spellcasters Lilith knew.

Neither had ever explained that, and Lilith didn't expect them to.

Lilith stayed on the floor, for a moment, panting and staring at the glimmer of light on the wood, lighting up the grains. To the side, his arms crossed and expression level and blank, was Kassander, watching them. When she'd come to the Essairs to ask for their help, Kassander had immediately set Sandalio to teaching her how to use mist form. It wouldn't leave a scent, he said, nor an energy signature. It was the perfect thing to scoot past spellcasters unnoticed, but Lilith was having a bit of a rough time mastering it. She was having a hard time getting _into_ mist form to begin with, let alone _holding_ it.

As he usually didn't, Kassander hadn't said anything at all, simply watched. It didn't feel like he was judging, but rather that he was simply there, just in case. Lilith sat up on her haunches, taking a deep breath in. Sandalio reached down to offer her a hand. Lilith gratefully took it, and stood up.

"You seem to be thinking too hard about it," Sandalio said. "Mist form is something you must find with feeling, instead."

Lilith snorted. "Unfortunately, I'm terrible at anything that requires _feeling_." Lilith tended to overthink things, and she was under no illusions. She was quite aware she was emotionally stunted. It was almost impressive how _much_ she was, but mostly Lilith tried not to think about it. Caleb had all of his emotions, and hers, so it would seem.

"I've noticed this, yes," Sandalio said, smiling. "You'll get the hang of it. You're already getting very close, that's better than most of your calibre can say."

"It's difficult?" Lilith asked.

"Sure is," Sandalio said. "Mist form is a reconnection to the most primal form of magic vampires have ever used, that of darkness. There are some techniques that tap into the powers of darkness that vampires use even now, but for the most part, the art has been lost. As you're not a spellcaster, either, it doesn't come easily to you. You'll get the hang of it, just maybe not as quickly as you'd like."

"I need to get it sometime this week," Lilith said. "The guy's life depends on it. Or at least, it probably does."

Kassander loosed a snort. "He got himself into this mess, you know," Kassander said. "There are things that are your job to fix, and things that are not. Lilith, this falls under things that are not."

Part of the trouble, Lilith imagined, was that she was quite aware of that. Did it change her mind? Not at all. She intended to fix this, and she was going to fix it one way or another. Besides, when you lived forever, you had to get your entertainment _somehow_. Mortals were often unbearably stupid, but they had a kind of naive charm to them all the same. Of course, at Kassander's age, she imagine he'd given up on mortals and their strange and grating ways. It'd probably be best if she did, too.

Well, maybe _after this_ …

"I did kind of cause this mess," Lilith said.

Kassander didn't answer verbally, but the look he gave her said everything that needed to be said.

Sandalio laughed quietly off to the side. "You two," he said. "You're both too stubborn for your own good sometimes. I should think if we let you both alone too long, you'd end up in a circular argument for ten years."

"Just because we _would_ ," Lilith said, "doesn't mean you're right."

"Yeah, that's the definition of being _right_ , in this case," Sandalio said, looking amused.

Okay, so, maybe that _was_ right. Lilith snorted slightly, but she didn't say anything else.

"In any case, it's honourable that you want to help," Sandalio said. "But Kassi's got a point. Try not to get too wrapped up in things that aren't your problem. They take up a lot of time that could be better used on things that _are_."

"Prioritising?" Lilith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly that," Sandalio answered. He straightened up, seemingly ready to go back to coaching her through getting the hang of mist form, but Kassander loosed a squeak, and that changed very quickly.

Lilith turned, as Kassander's hand raised to his head.

"Kassi don't fight it," Sandalio said, scrambling over to him.

If Kassander answered, Lilith didn't catch it, before his hand fell away from his head, and he stared straight forward. Lines of gold light burst to life in his eyes, almost like circuits. Lilith loosed an audible gasp, taking a step backward. Sandalio shuffled around and held his arms out, like he expected Kassander to fall. Yet, when the light died off, and Kassander finally blinked again, he loosed a puff of air and his knees buckled. He fell, of course, right into Sandalio's grasp.

"What was that?" Sandalio asked, half clinging to the blond.

"I'm fine," Kassander said. "It just gave me a headache."

"You collapsed, Kassi, you haven't done that in _years_ ," Sandalio answered.

Kassander was quiet, breathing heavily, and then looked up at Lilith. She almost looked away. "It would seem that we have bigger problems," he said, "than your errant Charm."

* * *

Magic had a scent, and he knew that scent. All the same, he kept playing, pressing the keys with startling fluidity and speed. Old he may look, but Vladislaus was much more agile than he tended to let on. It gave him a notable advantage, of course, when others underestimated him, but the advantage didn't give him quite that much of an edge. By now, it was more that the whole thing was _amusing_ to him.

The shadows slid under the door. Though he pretended not to notice them, they had a notable acrid scent to them. It was very unpleasant, but still Vladislaus ignored the discomfort and continued to play. In this, too, he gained a slight advantage by being underestimated. He knew, someday, the black witch would come for him. She looked different, these days, but her eyes were still as hollow as they'd been before. She'd lost herself to whatever dark magic she'd become entwined with, and soon enough, would destroy herself. Of course, in the meantime, she was very much a threat.

As he played, he mulled over his options. He could take a stand, and attempt to take her down, but he would be unfortunately outmatched. He knew she'd been studying vampires longer than some of them knew vampirism existed at all. Whether she'd been doing so longer than _he'd_ been a vampire was questionable, and truth be told, he'd forgotten how long it'd been, anyway. The whole thing was rather moot. He could flee, but she'd eventually find him, no doubt, as the trouble with being someone like him, he had few friends, and even fewer places to hide.

Between one thought and another, the shadows converged together, and there she stood, a black crescent moon bound around her forehead by a chain, black hair bound in a half-bun, her silvery eyes as empty and soulless as always. Vampires may be said to be undead, but she was the one that had no life. Vladislaus supposed that was an unfortunate side-effect of the magics she chose to toy with. The black dress she was wearing fell to the floor, rustling slightly as she moved. Vladislaus finally stopped playing.

"I'd ask how you got in, but quite frankly, I don't care," he said.

"I'd answer, but quite frankly, I don't care either," Aine answered. Then, she drew her arm back, and threw magic at him. Vladislaus didn't have the time to move, though he did vanish in a burst of mist and reappear across the room. The spell caught his sleeve all the same, burning his sleeve up. A loud shrieking loosed as he burst into mist multiple times in a row, trying to shake the spell off. Ashes fell to the floor, Vladislaus reappearing a final time, his arm scorched almost beyond recognition, bits of ash still falling.

"Unfortunately, you're in my way," Aine said. "It's nothing personal, you understand."

Of course he did. Nothing was ever really personal in the world anymore. It was all ambition and wanting things that wasn't one's own to have, or at least, it seemed that way. What he didn't understand is what _this_ one wanted so badly that she was willing to pick fights with vampires that she may or may not be able to win. It seemed like folly to him, but then, they'd never sat down and discussed their differences, either.

"There are stronger, and more terrifying, things in the Hollow besides me," Vladislaus said. "I don't think you quite understand what it is you're dealing with."

"I understand well enough," Aine answered, raising one eyebrow. "If I take you out, then there's no central authority remaining in Forgotten Hollow, and I can do as I please."

"I highly doubt Kassander will leave you be if you push too far," Vladislaus said.

"Please, Kassander won't be able to even get _in_ here," Aine said, laughing. "He forgets he is also a spellcaster, and that affords him a few weaknesses. Well, just one in particular, but it'll work for my purposes."

The shadows slithered around on the floor and hissed, and then from the darkness rose Sarnai. Vladislaus looked annoyed.

"Heyy, look at that," Sarnai said, her violet eyes lighting up and sparkling in amusement. "We did say there's a first for everything, didn't we?"

"I don't suppose _you_ had anything to do with this?" Vladislaus asked.

"Oh no," Sarnai answered, her head shaking. "But it is amusing to see it, that's for sure. You know, we never did like you much."

"Join the club, really," Vladislaus said, rolling his eyes. "What are you two after, anyway?"

Aine looked a bit uncertain, glancing at Sarnai.

"Oh come now, I'm not _stupid_ ," he said. "You're going to kill me anyway, may as well tell me why."

Aine snorted softly. Sarnai doubled over laughing.

"Look at him, being the tough guy for once, that's rich!" she cackled, wandering off down a hallway.

Aine shook her head slightly after her, then turned back to look at Vladislaus. "The All, of course," Aine said. "And I will get it this time."

"This time?" Vladislaus said, sounding surprised. It sounded as if she'd tried to get it before. But of course she had. Someone like her, he wouldn't put it past her at all. Funny, he was the one that was supposed to be evil in this situation. Granted, he was the kind of evil that never went too far, he supposed. "If you even _do_ manage to find the All, the only thing you will do is destroy yourself," he said.

"Come on, grandpa," Aine said, smirking, "as if I haven't heard _that_ before. That's the best you've got? You'll destroy yourself, is it? Well, welcome to the real world you've been hiding from so long, I suppose. In this world there is only power, and those, like you, that are too weak to use it. But don't worry. It's nothing personal, of course, so I'll be kind enough not to make you suffer."

Aine stepped forward, and threw some kind of spell at him, Vladislaus didn't recognise the scent of it. Before it reached him, however, _something_ in the walls began to glow and hum. The light of the spell Aine had cast suddenly went out, and as if he had never been there at all, Vladislaus was gone.

Aine straightened up, and loosed an irritated shriek. She knew that magical signature, she'd recognise Keisha's magic anywhere. What exactly she'd just done, that one Aine had no answer for, but she wasn't as familiar with the shaman arts as she likely should've been.

" _Sarnai_!" Aine shrieked, turning on a heel and moving towards where Sarnai had gone. Only a few moments later, Sarnai turned a corner and nearly smacked into Aine.

"What?" she asked.

"We need to work on raising the barriers," Aine said. " _Now_."

Sarnai made a clicking sound with her teeth. "Why?" she asked. "We just got here, and we would like to look around first."

" _Now_ ," Aine repeated. "If Kassander finds us here before we've had the chance to raise the barriers, then we're both toast. I don't think even _you_ can stand against him. Now get to work, unless you want to die instead."

Aine shuffled away, headed downstairs. Sarnai shook slightly where she stood in annoyance, but eventually, she turned the other direction. If Aine wanted the stupid barrier raised, she supposed that wasn't so bad of a request, really. And _then_ she could look around.

Down the hill, far from the Straud manor and its invaders, a grey tabby with a bald leg clung to a dusky-skinned woman's arm. Her white hair was hidden beneath a white conical hat, violet eyes darting to and fro, as she carried the tabby the rest of the way down the hill, and towards Granite Falls.


	14. Tell Me I'm the One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … um. You know I had a bunch to say right here and I lost it in between starting this chapter and finishing it, so… that’s a thing.
> 
> If I had a Simself, it’d be basically Liberty Lee. Just more Mexican and less Chinese.
> 
> Siren Song, Three Laws

"Careful," Caleb warned, eyebrows furrowing together.

Morgyn just gave him an exasperated look, sitting up and taking the glass of tea. "I'm not _glass_ suddenly," Morgyn grumbled into the cup.

Caleb released a quiet sigh. He knew that, really he did. Morgyn just _worried_ him, _a lot_. For some reason, it just felt like there was something seriously wrong, some great reason to be so concerned. Ezio seemed to sense it, too, judging by how he acted, but mysteriously, the spellcaster wasn't sharing what he felt.

Caleb liked Ezio well enough. He was generally very kind, and well-meaning, and he was interesting to talk to. And yet he was also somehow very intimidating. There was a lot that went on in his head, behind the grey of his eyes, that he didn't talk about, and it gave him a very closed-off feeling. Caleb didn't quite understand how Drake could love someone like that so intensely, but he also understood that Ezio and Drake had something that couldn't easily be replicated.

Once, Caleb thought he might've been able to fall for Ezio, too. Actually, there were a few times when he thought he was. And surprisingly, a few times when he wanted to be. But Caleb wasn't Drake, and he couldn't be, so he'd never tried to do anything with it to speak of. It was just as well. Ezio was weirdly jumpy and skittish sometimes.

"You shouldn't worry so much," Morgyn said, curling up slightly around the cup. It gave off wisps of steam.

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "You still have a migraine," he said. "I don't think you're supposed to have a migraine for this long this consistently. I mean, I haven't been _human_ in a while, but, I think that's about right!"

Morgyn sighed, curling up around the cup a bit tighter.

Caleb sighed, too, settling down on the side of the bed. "I worry, Morgyn. That's what I do. And I especially worry about _you_."

Green eyes flicked up, meeting Caleb's gaze. Morgyn looked like the blond had no idea how to take that, and Caleb had to admit it could be taken badly, too. He didn't backtrack or try and change what he'd said, though. That looked worse, in many cases, and it was the truth after all. Sometimes, the truth wasn't terribly attractive, or comforting. It didn't make it any less the truth.

"You shouldn't," Morgyn said, lips tilting just so in wry amusement. "Worrying about me isn't very good for your health. Just ask Ezio."

Caleb snorted, but Morgyn blinked, looking surprised.

"Wait, you don't think that's _actually_ -"

"What?" Caleb asked. "No. No that's not a thing, really, it's not."

"High levels of stress can-"

"No, Morgyn stop it," Caleb said, reaching over and wrapping his hands around the blond's. "You didn't cause Ezio's heart problems. You _didn't_."

Morgyn looked down at the cup, watching the wisps of steam. "I think I want someone to blame," the blond whispered.

"Blame his immune system or something, I guess," Caleb answered softly. "Sometimes things just turn out wrong, and it's no one's fault, it just _is_."

"I know," Morgyn said. The blond looked up at him, and smiled just so, one hand letting go of the teacup and escaping his fingers to rest against his cheek. "I meant it, though," Morgyn added. "You shouldn't worry about me so much."

Caleb smiled back, shrugging slightly. "I don't know, that's how I show I care, I guess. I fret a lot." It was what it was, Caleb supposed. His life would be a lot easier, if he didn't panic so much, but if he didn't, then it almost felt like he didn't care at all. It was a strange thing Caleb hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about, merely because it was annoying trying to make sense of what was in your head. Caleb had stopped trying probably in the 1800s.

"I suppose," Morgyn allowed. Then, the blond sat up a little, raising the cup and drinking some of the tea. "Do you have a computer?" Morgyn asked.

"Um, yeah, why?" was Caleb's almost confused response.

"I should probably email my professors and such, let them know I have a cold and whatever, and maybe figure out what I missed out on. I don't imagine I missed much, but it's hard to tell."

Caleb snorted. "Yeah, so it can be. I'll bring my laptop by later, then. But for now, you should really rest."

"I've been sleeping for a _week_ ," Morgyn argued. "I'm feeling better today, anyway, I want to take advantage of it in case it goes away again."

Caleb shook his head. "There's nothing to take advantage of feeling better _with_ , it's Thursday, and you're moving out of here this weekend. Ezio's not even here." Caleb thought the blond would be better off taking advantage of the _downtime_ and resting some more, but then that was Morgyn's style, he knew.

Morgyn very rarely ever took proper breaks from things, the blond seemingly always doing _something_. That was in and of itself concerning, but Caleb also knew better than to say anything about _that_ particular thing. Morgyn just liked to keep busy, and it was a valid thing, even if Caleb was convinced it was harmful in some ways. That was for Morgyn to decide, not him, though.

"I guess you're right," Morgyn said, then released a sigh, and curled back up with the teacup.

Caleb was just glad Morgyn hadn't been asking any questions he didn't have an answer to. While he could _tell_ that Ezio was hiding something, he didn't know what it was. For all he knew, it could be something completely unrelated to all of this.

"Does your head still hurt?" Caleb asked.

"A bit, yeah," Morgyn answered. "I took a painkiller earlier, it should eventually stop."

"You took the _strong_ stuff, right?" Caleb asked.

"Yes," Morgyn replied. "You're doing it again, worrying way too much."

"I did tell you it comes with the territory, in not as many words," Caleb said, looking amused. "Try and get some rest if you get tired. I'll be across the hall if you need anything, I've got a presentation to do."

"You can't stay?" Morgyn asked.

Oh. Uh. Well theoretically he could stay, but the way Morgyn asked that sounded… like a bad idea. Caleb still hadn't even _kissed_ Morgyn yet, they barely ever came into physical contact with each other, either. Mostly, it was because Caleb didn't know if he could remember where the line was, wrapped up in the scent that was unmistakably Morgyn, the electric hum under the spellcaster's skin. He didn't want to mess up, not with Morgyn, not this time.

"I don't think I'd get anything done if I did stay," Caleb answered. "It'll be fine, I'll be back later."

"You promise?" Morgyn asked.

"Yeah, I promise," Caleb answered, and then he stood up, and headed for the door. Before Morgyn started _pouting_ or something, and he changed his mind.

* * *

As he said he would, Caleb came back later, with a handful of notebooks, textbooks, and some pens. Morgyn had fallen asleep at some point, so Caleb settled down at the dining room table, and got to work on his presentation.

If he didn't start working on it, he'd eventually forget he was supposed to be doing it, and generally speaking, leaving things for the last minute didn't usually work out in one's favour. Caleb actually wanted to graduate at some point, and while he and Lilith had a bit of money put aside, he wasn't terribly interested in squandering it on wasting time on classes he wasn't going to pass.

Drake was in the office, typing away on his next book. How that guy managed to _write_ so much, Caleb would never know. Maybe that was something he'd never really understand, because he wasn't a writer and couldn't easily understand their ways. That sounded right. Somewhere between fiddling with the note cards that made up his presentation and trying to decide which images to use and which to leave out, the front door opened, and Ezio came in.

Caleb instinctively looked up and smiled at him. "Hey," he greeted. "Welcome back."

"Yeah, thanks," Ezio answered, a very small smile of his own tugging at his lips. He and Morgyn looked exactly the same, somehow, now that Morgyn had transitioned, and Caleb never understood how that had happened. And all the same, they were beautiful in somehow very different ways. If Morgyn was the sun, Caleb thought, then Ezio was the night.

Maybe that was Caleb's problem. He was trying too hard to catch the sun, but the sun wasn't any good for a vampire, right?

"How's Morgyn?" Ezio asked, shuffling over to the counter and setting his books down.

Caleb felt a little twinge of sympathy, as Ezio's grey eyes fell on Mayor's food bowl. He hadn't been around in some time now, his scent had faded a good deal. He didn't say anything. "Awake earlier," Caleb answered. "Had some tea and I made sure eating something was on the list, but last I checked Morgyn had gone back to sleep. After _insisting_ sleep was unnecessary, of course."

Ezio snorted softly. "Of course. You always have a lot of luck getting the idiot to eat at least, so thank you."

Well, it wasn't like Caleb did it for _Ezio_ , but he recognised the sentiment all the same. "Glad to be helpful," he said. And then he went quiet, for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Ezio was hiding something, Caleb could tell that much. He wanted to know what Ezio was hiding, because if it had to do with Morgyn, it could be important.

"Ezio, what are you not telling me?" he asked softly. It was quiet enough that, if he wanted to, Ezio could pretend he hadn't heard it.

Instead of that, however, Ezio's gaze met Caleb's, and for a long moment, Caleb was almost sure Ezio was going to freeze him to something. He had such an intense stare, really. "Don't worry about it," Ezio said, turning away. "That's not yours to be concerned with."

"If it has something to do with Morgyn-" Caleb started, but Ezio cut him off.

"Of course it does," Ezio said. "But like I said, it's not yours to be concerned with."

"Ezio, please," Caleb whispered. "I'm worried."

Ezio didn't answer for another long moment, and Caleb wondered what went on behind those eyes. He seemed to be having an internal debate about something, and then he turned back to look at Caleb. "Morgyn is a sage," he said, tone even and calm. "Things like this are going to happen."

Caleb's eyes narrowed sharply. "Things like this didn't _happen before_ ," Caleb said, his tone vehement and insistent. Things like this, they didn't _happen_ in the 80s and the 90s, or the early 2000s, this was a new thing. Ezio couldn't just sweep it under the rug and pretend it was always there because it _wasn't_.

Ezio's gaze hardened, just slightly. "Sometimes, things change, Caleb," he said. "And sometimes you have to deal with something you don't know if you're ready for."

"Ezio, what are you not saying?" Caleb repeated.

Instead of answering verbally, Ezio shook his head, shuffling around the kitchen counter to put his house keys up. "Just pay attention," he said, dropping the keys in their holder with a metallic clang. "And if anything happens, you put Morgyn's safety over everything else."

Something about the way he _said_ that made Caleb's skin suddenly decide to crawl. He glanced down, thinking about it. It made sense that was what Ezio would want, because Morgyn was always at the top of Ezio's list of priorities, and truthfully, aside from perhaps _Lilith_ , there wasn't much above Morgyn on Caleb's list of priorities, either. It made complete sense. So why did it bother him so much?

Ah, no. "What about you?" Caleb asked, his head tilting back. "Morgyn needs you." And if they were ever in a situation where Caleb had to choose one or the other Ember, while he hoped to whatever being was listening that never happened, he didn't think he'd know what to do.

Ezio released a snort. "I said _everything_ , else, Caleb," he answered. "I meant that. _Everything_."

Yeah, Caleb _definitely_ didn't like that. But that was Ezio's way all the same, and he knew it. That _was_ what Ezio thought he wanted. The spellcaster was always putting Morgyn above himself, and this time would clearly be no different. And that bothered him, too. There were a lot of things about Ezio and Morgyn's weird dynamic that bothered him, but he always figured it wasn't his place, and so he held his tongue.

"I don't _like_ that, Ezio," Caleb said. He didn't.

Ezio released an airy snort, and smiled. "That's why I didn't ask you to _like_ it," he said, and then shuffled around Caleb towards the bathroom.

And Caleb liked it even less.

* * *

Though it was difficult to focus on it, Caleb had eventually gone back to doing his presentation work. Ezio had gone to take a shower, and when he came back out, he smelled like lime and coconut. Caleb had always liked that scent, but hadn't ever worked up the courage to ask him where he'd gotten it from. It was probably kind of weird to be paying so much attention to what he smelled like, wasn't it? Morgyn usually smelled of toasted sugar, which sort of smelled of brown sugar to him. Not quite exactly, they were just very similar. Either way, Caleb had decided, the first time he'd smelled it, that he liked that scent.

He still absolutely did, but lime and coconut were getting up there somewhere by now.

Lilith hadn't been home in a few days now, but she was probably still trying to work things out with the Charms. He hoped she was having decent luck, at least. He was worried about her, of course, but it seemed a bit silly to bother her right now. Who knew how close she was to getting things taken care of, and it would be best not to distract her, he figured. She could be very close to figuring it out, and he didn't need to mess it all up for her.

Amid working on his presentation, Caleb had remembered something that he needed to talk to one of his professors about. He'd been a bit annoyed about it, but it wasn't terribly late, either, so he gathered his presentation papers and note cards up, gone to Britechester, and asked his thousand questions about the assignment that he needed to ask. He'd come just in time, it'd seem, because that professor was just about ready to go home. It wasn't like it'd be the end of the world if he missed office hours, just a bit annoying.

Now, of course, he had a better idea of what he was doing with it. It made it notably easier to figure out how to arrange the note cards, and decide on what information he wanted to leave out, or add in. There were so many different ways he could think of to arrange it, it was almost fascinating in and of itself. Caleb, as it turned out, kind of enjoyed learning.

He walked along the pathway, shuffling through the note cards and papers, thinking about all the ways he could arrange the data and how he wanted to present everything. And then, suddenly, he jerked backward as something slammed into his arm. The papers in his hand fell, and he could hear the sound of books clattering onto the concrete, and a feminine squeal.

"I'm sorry, sorry, really," the same feminine voice said. Caleb shook his head to clear it, and then looked down to find a dark-haired young woman scrambling to catch all the papers before they flew away in the slight breeze. Caleb didn't say anything, simply started after the ones that had begun to float away, snatching them up, and then he returned to her.

"It was my fault," he said, handing her the papers he was sure were hers (his handwriting wasn't _nearly_ that pretty). "I'm sorry."

"No, honestly, it's just kind of something I do," she said, shrugging and laughing slightly. Her voice wasn't exactly melodic or anything, it had a slight hint of a rougher edge to it, but he didn't find it unpleasant all the same, and her laugh was almost infectious. And as she looked up at him, he found it terribly difficult not to stare at her eyes. One was a very dark, deep chocolate brown colour, and the other was _green_.

"You frequently crash into people?" Caleb asked, smiling slightly.

"Yep," she answered, nodding once, and handing him a stack of papers. A glance verified they were indeed his, or this girl mimicked his chicken scratch quite well. "I trip over _life_ sometimes," she said, her eyes widening comically as she said it with such gusto.

Caleb couldn't help the laugh. "I'm Caleb," he said, holding his hand out.

"Oh, right," she answered, and she took his hand. "My name's Liberty."

As they shook hands, Caleb sensed it. That slight flash of electricity, flowing from her hand into his. The same sensation he got from the Embers, just notably weaker. _Magic_. "I'm sorry, is it insensitive to ask you where you're from?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm Chinese," Liberty said, taking her hand back and smiling. "And before you ask, my eyes are natural, yes, they really are this colour, I can't tell you why either. Well, there's some science-y mumbo jumbo behind it but you don't really look like a science guy. Not that this is a bad thing!"

Caleb laughed. "Well, being technical about it, cooking is kind of a science."

"You're in _cooking_?" Liberty exclaimed.

"I'm still learning, but yes," Caleb answered. "And for the record, your eyes are beautiful."

"Wha-oh," Liberty spluttered slightly, looking bewildered. And then she snorted softly. "No one's ever said that before. Well, one kid when I was in fifth grade said it, but I think he was mocking me."

Caleb almost uttered an apology. Kids could be awfully cruel, sometimes, but she looked up at him and smiled.

"Yours are, too," she said.

"Thanks," he answered. "So, what are you taking?"

"Physics," Liberty answered, her tone wry. "I want to be an astronaut. Or get closer to the rockets than this at least. But I seem to have ended up on the wrong side, here, and I have no idea where the lobster is."

He looked a bit apologetic. "You're on the wrong side of the river," he said. "Er, _rivers_ , plural, there are three in between here and there, but anyway, you have to go past Gibbs Hill and…"

Somehow, just by the way she was looking at him, he could tell she was going to forget everything he'd just said in a few minutes. Instead, he snorted, and shifted his weight. "I'll show you," he decided.

"You don't have to!" Liberty protested.

"Come on," Caleb said, taking her sleeve and tugging her towards Gibbs Hill. "It'll take me less time to just get you there than it will for you to try finding it by yourself."

Besides, he was absolutely going to get her number by the end.

* * *

"There _is_ a school rivalry," Caleb said, as he walked along the pathway, "but some of us don't take it too seriously."

Liberty, following along behind him, smiled again. She seemed to smile a lot, and Caleb found it a little infectious. "I'm sure eventually I'll get tagged with silly string or something," she said. "I was usually the one everyone picked on in high school. Not so bad in grade school, at least. I was invisible in grade school."

"You can turn invisible?" Caleb asked. That sounded like something that was plausible to him.

Strangely, she burst out laughing at him. He couldn't be too mad about it, though. "Not exactly," she said. "I just meant, I mostly read books when I was a kid and minded my own business. I don't really stand out, aside from my eyes. Beyond that, no one paid me much mind. I had one friend, she was also Chinese, and our moms were friends, but then she moved and now I'm just invisible girl that trips on air."

Caleb made a face. "I don't think you're very invisible," he said. "You _do_ have friends, right?"

"Oh sure," Liberty answered, waving a hand. "Summer and Travis, actually. Well, Summer kind of made friends with me and Travis… ahh, Travis."

"That bad?" Caleb asked.

Liberty snorted. "If it was legal, he would've married Hillock II," she said.

What exactly a Hillock II was, Caleb had no idea, but he just smiled at her and nodded like he knew what she meant. (He'd ask Ezio later. Ezio knew nearly everything.)

"Summer and I had a crush on him in high school. I had a feeling he wouldn't be terribly interested in me, but _Summer_ , I mean, she's everyone's best friend, the It girl, right? I think she was even literally prom queen at least once. But he doesn't seem to be interested in her, either. I hope she gives up on him. I did, and I like to think I'm much happier."

Caleb looked a bit sad. "You'll find someone that's your speed," he said. "There's someone out there for everyone."

"Yeah, maybe not alien-loving face-planting nerds," Liberty said, giggling.

Caleb heard it, when her foot kicked the concrete slightly wrong. And she went down; instinctively, he quickly moved over and caught her before she hit the walkway. To his surprise, she burst into laughter again.

"Oh fuck, thank you!" she said, getting her feet back under her, and adjusting herself. Caleb let go once he was sure she wasn't going to fall again.

"You're going to hurt yourself one day," he said, shaking his head.

"I told you," Liberty answered, still giggling. "I have the grace of a newborn baby duck with a birth defect."

That was oddly specific, Caleb thought, and he raised an eyebrow for a moment, but he didn't argue with her. It was a moot thing, and she _really had_ just tripped over her own feet. Surprisingly, this time, the hum of magic under her skin was stronger than it was the last time they'd come into physical contact with each other. Caleb remembered Morgyn mentioning that magic could sometimes be made dormant, for varying reasons, either because a spellcaster was born with magic that was stronger than their ability to control it, or because they had very dangerous abilities, or to protect them from people that might want to hurt a spellcaster.

Caleb would wonder who might want to do that, but he had a few guesses. Either way, he thought perhaps her magic was dormant, sleeping just under her skin, and being around him made it become a bit more active. That was troublesome, because it meant that it was likely that being around him could put her in danger as a side-effect, if her magic was reacting to his and trying to reactivate, and it was dormant for her own protection in the first place.

If he remembered correctly, Morgyn had also mentioned once or twice that there were a lot of cases where the magic was dormant only because the spellcaster blood in their family line had thinned out to the point they were _barely_ still a spellcaster. That had happened with Caleb and Lilith, if he remembered right. Theirs was so weak now, if they wanted to become spellcasters, they'd have to learn magic, rather than being born with it. It wasn't impossible, and Caleb had considered it a few times. He eventually always decided that it was a little too much for him.

"If you say so," he said, smiling. "So, get closer to the rockets, huh?" It almost sounded like she already got in range of them.

Liberty laughed quietly. "Yeah," she answered. "I clean toilets at the space centre. Nothing too glamourous or anything, but I don't want to be a janitor for the rest of my life. They said they'd consider giving me a promotion and letting me join the space-faring teams if I went through a physics degree, so, here I am."

"Are you enjoying it?" Caleb asked.

"I am," Liberty answered, nodding. "But I also really enjoy science anyway. Actually I've always loved science, ever since I was a kid, and I could _probably_ have done my entire science class's homework every day in high school and enjoyed it."

"You did the smart thing, did it, and charged, right?" Caleb asked.

Liberty laughed slightly, and then abruptly stopped, looking a bit perplexed and maybe a little annoyed. "No, actually," she said. " _Damn_ it."

Caleb snorted. "I'm sorry," he said. "But maybe you can do that in university. A lot of the students here um, well there's a sliding scale of how seriously they take their studies, I guess."

"What are you going to do after you graduate?" Liberty asked.

"I don't know," Caleb replied, shrugging. "I've been seriously considering opening a restaurant of my own, but I'm not much of a manager guy."

"That's what employees are for, _silly_ ," Liberty answered.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, smirking, and then he stopped. "Well, this is Foxbury Institute. I can't help you find your classes though."

"That's fine," Liberty answered, smiling. "You got me _this_ far at least. Thanks. Really."

"You're welcome." For a moment, they stared at each other, and then Liberty moved to go.

"Well, I'll see you around-" she started.

"No, wait," Caleb interrupted, reaching into a pocket, and writing his phone number down. He handed the paper to her. "This is my cell," he said. "If you uh, get lost on Britechester grounds again, just give me a call. I'll come save you."

Liberty looked surprised, but she took the paper, and then pulled one of her own out, taking the pen from his hand, and scribbling something. Then, she handed it to him, and the pen back. "That's mine," she said. "If you ever feel like getting into Blicblock, you let me know."

Caleb smiled, snorting slightly, and Liberty turned around and wandered off across the Foxbury grounds with a slight spring in her step. Caleb shook his head, took a breath in and turned away, only to hear the tell-tale sound of Liberty's feet catching the concrete wrong.

She tripped, but caught herself from falling. "I'm fine!" she said. "Just fine. I'm okay." And then she went back on her way.

Caleb made a face. Great. He had a sovereign of chaos, and apparently, he'd just decided now he had a clutzy queen. Well, his life was never going to be boring, that was for sure.

* * *

He and Morgyn were purposefully quiet, as they came back up the elevator. Morgyn still had a headache, but it was steadily going away, and Morgyn wanted to go out somewhere. So, Caleb had taken the blond out somewhere. It wasn't really the movie date they had been discussing before, but it was something, and it got Morgyn out of the apartment. Ezio could stay inside for weeks on end and not be bothered by it. Morgyn tended to get a little stir crazy after a while.

Caleb wasn't big on going places, either, but wherever Morgyn was, that was an okay place for him to be all the same.

As usually they did, the two of them stopped outside Ezio's apartment door. There wasn't much sense in going in, because Ezio was probably sleeping, for one thing. He still got up at ridiculous hours of the morning, and Caleb didn't like disturbing his sleep (neither did Morgyn). And, of course, there was always tomorrow, even if it felt like a lifetime away. Caleb stopped to one side of the blond.

"I'll have to plan the next date better," he said.

Morgyn reached over and patted his shoulder. Caleb tried to ignore it. "It's fine," Morgyn said. "I did kind of spring this one on you last second, and all that considered, you did really good."

Well, if Morgyn thought so, Caleb wouldn't argue. He'd just have to trust that Morgyn meant what was said, and Caleb didn't generally have trouble doing that before. "I guess I did," he said. Sometimes, it was better to take the path of least resistance, he supposed. Besides, Morgyn was still recovering from whatever it was that was wrong, and Caleb certainly didn't want to make it any worse.

"We can do the movie date some other time," Morgyn said, rocking back on the blond's heels. "Or we can do something else next time, whatever you want. I'm not really picky."

Caleb snorted. "I don't know, you're picky about some strange things at times."

"Yeah, I guess I am," Morgyn admitted quietly. "But I try not to be too picky with you. Honestly, I'm just really happy that you think about me so much."

The soft smile that crossed Morgyn's face, the slight little flush across the blond's nose, made Caleb's heart leap. He didn't have that kind of reaction to anyone else. Maybe wondering what it was he felt about Morgyn was a silly thing to wonder, in the end, because it seemed pretty damned obvious if he stopped thinking about it, and started _feeling_ it, instead. All the same, there were questions that remained unanswered, specifics and semantics that he had to work through in his head and in his heart. Caleb just didn't think it was fair, to say that he loved the blond, and yet not really know what he felt at all.

Ezio was right, too. Things were changing, and Caleb had to decide, he supposed, whether he could still see himself standing here in a few years. There was time to figure it out, he always thought to himself, but if this incident was teaching him anything, it was that perhaps there was notably less time than he liked to believe. Things changing complicated other things, too, because when one thing shifted, other things were moved just ajar enough to become uncomfortable.

But things often did get uncomfortable. That was how one grew and learnt, after all.

"Of course I do," Caleb said, smiling. "There's usually not much else on my mind but you. Well, and my presentation." He supposed his schoolwork was kind of important. "And my sister, also very important."

Morgyn laughed, that dorky little laugh that made Caleb's fingertips tingle, and then reached over and took Caleb's hand. "Yeah, that's all important enough," Morgyn said. The blond went quiet for a moment, studying Caleb's eyes, and then, in a slightly lower vocal register, asked, "Do you want me to stay with you, instead?"

Something jumped into Caleb's throat, and he almost said yes reflexively, but then he stopped and thought about it. He shouldn't say yes. It was, inevitably, a bad idea. Morgyn was impulsive, and for that matter, so was Caleb in some ways, and it was somewhat amazing they hadn't already ended up entangled in bed-sheets, and each other, as it was.

Morgyn still occasionally went out and came back smelling of someone else, too. It hadn't happened too recently, at least, but Caleb couldn't stop thinking about it, and yet, was terrified to ask about it. It didn't matter, he was sure.

"Maybe another night," Caleb said softly. "I have class in the morning, and I don't really want you to be alone while I'm gone."

Morgyn looked a bit disappointed, but covered it up pretty quickly. Damn it, it felt like Caleb kept messing this part up, and saying all the wrong things. "Drake is right across the hall," Morgyn said. "But I guess that's fair enough."

"I know," Caleb said, trying to think fast. "But you know, I worry about you a lot, remember?"

Morgyn didn't say anything at first, and then simply nodded.

"I'm just saying you're supposed to be moving to the _Casa_ ," Caleb said, "not my apartment."

Morgyn snorted softly, but looked a bit less upset about it, at least. And then, the blond stood up on tip-toes, free hand resting against Caleb's jaw, and like every other time this happened, Caleb almost didn't think about it quickly enough. But, just in time, he moved his head, and Morgyn stopped.

He could _smell_ it, rather than see it, when Morgyn got upset. And some part of his heart broke, but he wouldn't do that to Morgyn. He took a breath in, and looked back at Morgyn. He could see the hurt in those green eyes, and he wondered, why he couldn't just go with it. It wasn't like Morgyn hadn't made it very obvious that was what the blond wanted, and still, he couldn't do it.

"I'll come by tomorrow," Caleb said.

"Okay," Morgyn answered softly, and then let Caleb's hand go and went towards the door. Caleb tried not to sigh too loudly, turning around and heading to his own door.

Morgyn squeaking interrupted that plan. Caleb turned back around, as Morgyn raised a hand to blond hair, and then loosed a sudden rush of air and fell over.

Quickly, Caleb turned around the rest of the way and crossed the space to catch the blond before Morgyn hit the floor. The blond was out like a light, but Morgyn was breathing, at least, nothing seemed to be terribly in distress, Morgyn had just lost consciousness and Caleb couldn't immediately identify why. That was unnerving.

As he tried to figure out what to do now, the door opened, and Ezio shuffled over.

"I thought you were sleeping," Caleb said.

"I had a bad feeling," Ezio answered quietly. Then, he reached down, and pulled Morgyn into his arms. "Morgyn's been doing this off and on the last two days now."

"This is getting worse," Caleb said, standing as he did.

"Yes," Ezio replied. "I can't stop it entirely, not until I find the source of it, so this will just have to do." He turned and went towards the door.

"Ezio, _please_ ," Caleb said, reaching out and gently taking Ezio's elbow, to stop the movement. "Please. What is going on?"

Ezio watched him for a long moment, another of those internal debates going on behind his eyes, sparkling just slightly in the light, worry swirling around in their depths. "Everything else, Caleb," he said, and then pulled his arm free and went inside, closing the door behind him.


	15. You've Got a Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I have decided that I’m cutting the book after this one and moving its plot-important stuff to the one after. So we’re back to having four books instead of five, and MMB from here on out refers specifically to the old TMA. I realised that I didn’t need a whole ass other book to accomplish what I needed in it because a lot of it is already happening in this one.
> 
> This does mean we’ll get to the end a little faster and you guys are going to utterly hate me through like all of CMH so yeah that’ll be fun. I have a handful more chapters and then we’re halfway through TMA and I’m really trying to get this done by the end of August, but my mental health is like… a ball of uncertainty right now.
> 
> I also got re-registered for school and placed in a class and nobody thought to be like, you have a class or anything. Rude.
> 
> First of the Year (Equinox), Skrillex  
> It has no bearing on anything, I just happen to have had good luck writing with it on repeat.

"I swear I've said it before," Morgyn grumbled, "but I am not glass."

"I know you're not," Ezio answered, opening Morgyn's hand and putting a bottle of spring water in it. "But you _might_ just be dehydrated, which isn't a good thing. You know you can only live for about three days without water, idiot."

The look on Morgyn's face implied that Morgyn neither knew that before, nor cared much. The blond thankfully didn't argue any more, and unscrewed the cap, taking a drink instead. Sometimes, Morgyn was like an overgrown child. It'd sure be nice to be that naive, wouldn't it?

Of course, Ezio never said that, not to the blond. In his _head_ , sure, but Ezio tried not to be knowingly hurtful to Morgyn anyway. Ezio crossed his arms, leaning against the couch and watching Morgyn drink the water.

Ezio still had no idea what was wrong with the blond. Since Ezio didn't know, and Morgyn had no idea there was anything truly wrong, it was hard to make it go away. The protection spells Ezio had woven into the sage's hair seemed to be dimming the effects of whatever it was, at least for the most part. Occasionally, the effectiveness seemed to wane and cause episodes like Morgyn passing out suddenly.

Upon thinking of it, however, Ezio had the dawning realisation this could be bigger than just randomly fainting. If Ezio was prone to syncope because of a heart issue, and these things tended to be genetic…

"I want you to make an appointment with Dr. Williams," Ezio said.

Morgyn looked up at him in slight confusion. "Why?" the blond asked.

"Heart conditions like mine can be made more likely to occur by genetic factors," he explained. "Basically, we're related, and it's possible that I have something in my genetics that gives me a predisposition toward developing it. You may have something like it, too."

Morgyn looked a bit concerned, glancing toward the wall.

"I don't know if yours would be as advanced as mine," Ezio said. "And you're in a better position to live a longer and easier life than I am, if we've caught it early enough. It may be something unrelated, even. It's just better to catch things like this early, that's all, and I wouldn't trust anyone with your life but Troi."

Morgyn smiled slightly. "You really trust her," Morgyn said, like it was an observation rather than a question.

Ezio nodded. "I do," he said. "She's probably saved my sorry ass more times than I can count." She had a habit of pulling him down when he wouldn't do the fucking smart thing and hit the deck amid gunfire. Ezio tended to try being the hero and freezing the bullets, or raising ice shields. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time he just got himself shot.

On the bright side, if there was to be a bright side, he'd eventually figured out how to stop bullets with magic. _Nothing_ had an upperhand over him, not anymore.

Morgyn's head tilted to one side. "You never told me how you two met, come to think of it."

Yeah, and Ezio had no intention of changing that. "She was friends with some of my other friends," he said, trying to sound like it wasn't a big deal.

Morgyn either bought it, or seemed to come to the understanding that was as much as Ezio intended to say, because the blond smiled slightly and let the subject go. It was for the best. Ezio would probably die never having told Morgyn the full extent of what had happened between magic realm and here. There were some things that Morgyn simply didn't need to know.

"Hey," Ezio said, reaching down and gently resting his hand on one of Morgyn's wrists. "Try not to worry about it too much. It could be nothing, but I want to make sure."

"I know," Morgyn replied quietly.

"Did you eat recently?" Ezio asked. He'd been gone that morning, he had an early class, and Morgyn was awake when he'd gotten back.

"Yeah," Morgyn said. "Caleb came over and made me eat this morning."

"Well it's afternoon now," Ezio said, straightening up and shuffling into the kitchen to see about getting Morgyn something else to eat.

"I don't really feel hungry," Morgyn said.

"Just because you don't _feel_ it," Ezio answered, "doesn't mean you're not. It just means you don't feel it."

"Now you sound like Caleb," Morgyn said, green eyes rolling.

Ezio smirked, turning around, one hand leaning on the counter and the other propping against his hip. "Where do you think Caleb first heard that?"

Morgyn's eyes rolled again, and Ezio just laughed, shaking his head. If Morgyn _did_ have a heart problem anything remotely like Ezio's, then they'd have to have a long talk about the blond's diet. It was terrible, and Morgyn ate too sparsely, often making very bad decisions for meal options. Ezio could understand the temptation of something quick and relatively easy, but often these quick and easy meals were terrible unhealthy.

He decided to save the lecture for later, however, and simply went to making something that could better qualify as a snack than a meal. Morgyn would probably thank him for that much later.

Ezio did think he understood how they felt about his heart condition, though. There was a strong urge to fix it, and no idea how to.

* * *

He was running.

Over the marble floors, past the columns, the candles in frosted glass wall sconces against blue wallpaper. There was a light at the end, to the side, the pathway that led out into the garden, but he knew that he wouldn't make it that far. _Not again…_ Not again, not again…

"You can't run from me," a voice said, and his heart threatened to leap into his throat.

Ezio set his jaw, turning towards the sound. Jean barely looked human in these dreams, but he was getting used to it all. "I know," Ezio answered.

And though so much of him _screamed_ at him to turn away when the shadowy being that was Jean reached out and took hold of his neck, told him to run as quickly as he could, Ezio stayed right where he was. He'd wake up, soon, either because he started screaming in reality, or because Drake woke him up, that was how this always went. He just had to tolerate it for right now. He could make it through this.

"Oh, it's almost cute that you think you can get away from me," Jean said, his grip around Ezio's neck tightening. "You forgot. If you ever do…"

Ezio frowned. The air shifted, a chill filtering in the breeze, and then a piercing scream echoed down the hallway. It sounded like…

He turned towards the sound. "Morgyn?" 

"Ezio!" came the frantic response. It was definitely Morgyn's voice. "Ezio, please!"

" _MORGYN_!" Jean held him back, and then there was pain, but Ezio didn't even care what it was from as he frantically scrambled to get loose of the shadow, desperate to find Morgyn, still screaming out there somewhere. But the more he struggled, the easier it became, and then in one great screech, he freed himself from the blanket and slammed into the coffee table.

Ezio loosed a whimper, and then fell onto the table.

_I will always live right here in your head…_

"Ezio…?" a voice came, behind him, and Ezio sat up, breathing rapidly and hard, crying as he always was after dreaming of Jean. Why were they haunting him _now_? No, maybe that was a stupid question, because he'd never dealt with it before, because now, he was safe, and it was okay to deal with it.

He didn't want to deal with it. He wanted to forget Jean Dussault had ever existed.

 _Don't lie to yourself,_ a voice whispered. _You liked the attention._

Ezio scrambled across the space between them, instantly attaching to Drake and not letting go. Ezio would say that it didn't hurt as much, by now. This was the fifth nightmare in as many nights, and it was always the same one. That… was a little bit of a twist to the usual way that ended, but he supposed the dreams may get progressively worse over time, or perhaps they were meant to be getting better. He didn't know, he wasn't a psychologist.

Either way, maybe Jean never really _would_ leave him, not really, and not for long.

Drake didn't say anything of any consequence, as he usually didn't, simply sitting there, rocking slightly, and letting Ezio cry and freak out as he needed. Ezio appreciated his patience with this shit, more than words could express, and Ezio didn't understand, why Drake kept exposing himself to this, why he kept tolerating it. Why he stayed, even as things never really got better, either this or his heart.

And Ezio wondered, if it would really be so bad, to be a vampire, if it meant that he never had to let Drake go.

"This is the fifth one in a row," Drake said quietly, as Ezio began to calm down.

Ezio snorted, and then nodded. So it was.

"It just seems like it's suddenly a very common occurrence," Drake said. "Did something happen to drag it up?"

Ezio sighed. No, not as far as he could remember, but then it was possible that something _had_ happened, and he'd blocked the memories of it out. Talking with Morgyn and Drake about past events managed to teach him that it was rather common for him to do that, but usually it blocked completely random things out. Just stray memories that weren't terrible or traumatic somehow, shoved out of his head, because his mind had decided it couldn't handle that memory. Ezio always wondered about the mechanics of something like that, but he supposed he needn't understand it, either.

As Ezio shook his head, his hands raised up, brushing his tears away. He sat up, trying not to spend too long leaning that heavily on Drake, not that Drake seemed to mind it, but Ezio did.

"I don't think so," he answered quietly. "But I forget things from time to time." It'd happened for most of his life by now, and it was something he was used to. Once, he used to find it alarming, to look back on the years and barely remember anything about them, but now, he'd gotten adjusted to the idea that he'd retain very little of the life he lived. Just enough for it to be painful, he supposed. But what was life without pain, anyway? Unnatural, maybe.

"You know," Drake started, sounding thoughtful, "the last time this happened, it was a long time ago, but you had a malevolent spirit hanging around then. The ill intent gave you nightmares, if I remember right."

Yes, Ezio remembered that, miraculously. But this wasn't much like that incident. The nightmares were different, less distinct, more nondescript. Like it was just the manifestation of hatred and rage and pain, not some part of his subconscious mind trying to torment him for some inexplicable reason. He didn't want to tell Drake that. He didn't want to tell him that maybe some part of him _wanted_ to think about it, and that's why these dreams, nightmares, were so common. He didn't honestly know what to think of them anyway.

Ezio smiled slightly, sniffling. "So maybe I have another one?" he asked, though he knew the implication and also knew it was incorrect.

"Yeah, exactly that," Drake answered.

If only it was that easy. "Maybe," Ezio said. "I'll find out."

* * *

It was another slow day, but neither of them really minded it. The air was cool and crisp, but it was the nice kind. Cassandra didn't seem to mind the slight chill, either, and Ezio never minded the cold anyway. The two sat side by side at a table outside the Casbah Gallery, watching the crowd shuffle around, like converging dots that separated again shortly after, several of Cassandra's paintings hanging on the display board. Ezio hadn't bought one this time, but he had been tempted.

It was somehow easier to think around her. If he had to guess, it was just in her blood. She was a Goth, of course, and though he hadn't sensed it at any point, he would be surprised if she _didn't_ have a lot of magic in her. Her parents' binding on it hadn't come undone, even a little, but it was for the best. With the mess in magic realm, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think one of the last of the five families would be in notable danger. And of course, Ezio was _terrible_ at protecting _Morgyn_ , he couldn't imagine he'd be any better at protecting _her_. Truth be told, he didn't want to find out he was correct in that assumption the hard way.

"You didn't have to come," Cassandra mentioned quietly.

Ezio smiled. "I know," he said. "But I like spending time with you, and sitting around talking while you're here isn't a bad way of spending that time."

Cassandra turned a little pink over the bridge of her nose, and ducked her head.

He thought it was cute when she did that. Of course, he usually didn't push his luck too far past this point, either. He'd rather not say anything more than that and upset her with his weird flattery. It was a little difficult not to shower her in compliments, though.

"I haven't been sleeping real well, though," he said, glancing to one side. "I may not make complete _sense_ , but I'm trying at least."

Cassandra glanced over at him, and looked a bit concerned. Her eyes were so dark, as if they were pools of water that ran so deep it was impossible to see the bottom. Well, no, more like, freshly turned earth. Hers weren't a dark _blue_ , there were no flecks of blue in them. They were just dark, brown, if her eyes caught the light just right, but they looked black in the shade.

They didn't brighten to a fiery gold in the sunlight, or have flecks of green in them. But, all the same, he wondered how far they went wherever it was they led to.

"Morgyn again?" Cassandra asked.

Ezio shook his head. "Nightmares," he answered. "It happens sometimes, they come, they wreak havoc for a bit, and then they go again, like they were never there at all. Strangely though, it's notably easier to think around you. And breathe, it's a little easier to breathe."

Cassandra looked surprised, glancing up at the awning they were under. "That's strange," she said.

Ezio smiled. "Not as strange as you think," he answered.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you remember what you said, about your grandmother? You said you hadn't seen her do it, but figured she could do magic?" Ezio asked in return.

Cassandra nodded mutely.

"It's genetic," Ezio said. "If she could do magic, and at least one of your parents can, then maybe you've got the trait."

Cassandra blinked, looking surprised, as if this had never crossed her mind before, and maybe it never had. "So… I'm a…?"

Ezio nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Well, theoretically. I think both your parents are spellcasters," he knew they were, "but it's hard to say."

"I can't do magic," Cassandra said. "I've never done anything like it in my life, and my parents are kind of _boring_. I doubt I'm a spellcaster."

"Well, that's the fun thing about magic," he said. "Some people, they're too powerful, or it's dangerous to use it for some reason, so other people, usually their parents or other relatives, bind their magic. This makes it so that they can't use it, purposefully or otherwise."

Cassandra considered that, for a moment, her gaze falling to the table as she thought. Then, her dark eyes met Ezio's pale ones. "How do I undo it?" she asked. "Could you?"

Ezio blinked. He honestly hadn't considered the possibility of it being undone. Of course, it would unravel over time, once whichever of the Goths had set that binding in place passed away, if ever they did, but he hadn't thought about undoing it _before_ then. Cassandra was a _Goth_ , for fuck's sake, and right now the magical world's societal and political status were 'fucking unsafe.' The more he thought about that possibility, even, the less he liked it. He didn't know if she was ready for that.

He didn't know if _he_ was ready for that, as stupid as that sounded.

"I can't," he said, shaking his head. "It has to be undone by whoever cast it. Or it will unravel and undo itself when the one that cast it passes away, whichever happens first."

"So it wasn't my grandmother," Cassandra said, more to herself it seemed like.

That was debatable. Cornelia Goth was a very powerful spellcaster, and so were Mortimer and Bella for that matter. He imagined, if any of the three cast a binding, they may be strong enough that it would linger for _years_ after they were gone. Ezio decided not to explain that. It was unnecessary complication, and if Cassandra had no idea how powerful her line was, maybe that was for the best. Not that she seemed to have _any_ ambition in her at all.

She seemed to almost have no will at all, sometimes, he'd go so far as to say. But it only made him wonder all the more what went on in those eyes of fresh earth.

"What do you want?" he asked. "More than anything in the world, right now."

Cassandra blinked, and then pulled into herself, thinking for a moment. Then, she tilted her head, and shrugged. "I don't really know," she said.

"If you ever figure it out, then," Ezio said, "I think I'd like to hear it, if you're willing to tell."

* * *

No leads, Morgyn wasn't getting better, and in fact was in some ways getting worse. The chances of this being something physically wrong seemed exponentially high, and as much as Ezio didn't want to think about that possibility, he knew it was a possibility all the same. He almost wondered if things could get any worse from here, but Ezio didn't want to tempt fate. Instead, he thought about it, tried to imagine what it might be, design contingency plans and ideas for how to help Morgyn adjust to living differently than the blond was accustomed to. Ezio would likely have to nudge the idiot into taking on an apprentice. As of now, Morgyn didn't have one, and seemed to have zero interest in choosing one, either.

In some sense, one could consider Drake to be Morgyn's apprentice, because Drake had learnt untamed magic from a combination of the Embers, but that wasn't quite the same. Ezio sighed, his hands dropping and then sitting down onto the bed, the fitted sheet he was getting onto his mattress falling into his lap. This was stupid, and if Morgyn turned out to just have the same thing Ezio did, then it would inevitably feel like Ezio had failed somehow.

Everything Ezio had ever done was to keep Morgyn safe. Granted, a disease wasn't something he could _really_ protect Morgyn from anyway, it wasn't something he could take onto himself. He had theories, ideas, ways that he thought he could get it to work if he just tried hard enough, but he hadn't ever reached the point where he was willing to try. Magic could be finicky when you didn't _really_ know what you were doing, and Ezio had some scientific understanding, but he didn't think it was enough for something of this level.

And if he messed it up, it backfired, he made it worse, what then? Ezio didn't think he could live with that.

Ezio rested his head in his hands for a moment, and then stood back up, going back to getting this sheet back on his mattress. The apartment was oddly quiet now that Morgyn was no longer staying with them, but he'd readjust to the quiet again later. As he worked, he could sense something staring at him, and he heard the melodic singing. It came, as it always did, from everywhere and nowhere. A world beyond this one that Ezio didn't know where was or how to reach. It always felt like it was calling him.

He turned around. It wasn't there, not visibly, but he could sense… Ezio walked over to the window, but as he did so, the signature that he was sensing drew away from the window. He looked a bit disappointed, but then walked away again, back to his bed. The sensation came back. Ezio squinted at the window, stepped closer. The star creature moved away again.

Maybe it wanted him to follow it.

Ezio set the sheet down on the mattress and then made his way out into the apartment entry, into the elevator, down to the ground floor. He rushed outside into the cool, slightly dampened air, and then sensed around until he found where it had gone. It needed a name, he figured, but he had no idea what to call it, either. He stepped forward, towards where he sensed it the strongest, and as he suspected, it moved away. Ezio followed it through the streets, dimly and poorly lit by the street lamps.

Ezio remembered San Myshuno being a little more terrifying than this at night, but hindsight tended to have a way of making bad things seem worse than they were, and he knew that. He tried not to dwell on it all too much. As they walked, the star creature nudged his side slightly. Ezio could feel a slight spark where it touched him, the spark of _magic_. Not only was this thing borne of magic, it could _cast_ it, too. That was interesting. He did have to wonder what it was, and where it'd come from, but he didn't think it would answer even if he asked the question that was there on his tongue.

As he drew closer, he could tell there was someone lying on the ground, just outside the light of the street lamps. And then he realised it was Morgyn.

He took off at a sudden dead run, bolting across the sidewalk and falling hard onto his knees beside the blond. Ezio leaned over, listening. Soft little breaths came and went. Ezio breathed a sigh of relief, and then carefully got the blond up off the concrete and into his arms. He almost instinctively turned to the star creature and asked it how long Morgyn had been here, but he supposed the star creature had no answer to give him in a way he could understand. It wasn't even corporeal in this world. It was strange Ezio could barely see it, as well. He had a tendency to see things others couldn't.

"Thank you," he said instead, facing where he sensed it the strongest. "Thank you _so_ much."

He could sense something that seemed almost like pleasure, joy? He wasn't quite certain what it was, but he got Morgyn more steady in his grasp, and headed back for the apartment. Morgyn would have to stay with him tonight, but like hell was Ezio leaving the idiot here on the concrete. He wondered how the star creature knew that Morgyn had fallen. He wondered how it knew that Ezio didn't know.

He wondered why it even cared.

* * *

Ezio didn't question it all too hard. He got Morgyn into bed, and then went right to pacing holes into the carpet. There had to be something he could do that he was missing, but it was difficult to know what you were missing when your current perspective was the only one you were aware of. Ezio went from one end of the bed to the other, back and forth, trying to think. He had so limited few options, and Ezio _hated_ that healing magic hadn't started _at least_ with him. It would've been much easier to figure out what to do from here if he had healing magic at his disposal.

But, alas, this was a very imperfect world they lived in, and that world currently had no healing magic to speak of. Which meant he had to do this in other ways. He could _theoretically_ go into forbidden magic, but it was forbidden for a reason and Morgyn could have to strip his magic if he even tried it, and there was no guarantee as to whether it would help or not. No, more prudent would be discerning what it was he was dealing with in the first place.

That in mind, Ezio stopped pacing, leaned down slightly, and held a hand hovering over Morgyn. Magic jolted from one twin to the other chaotically, and it was giving him a weird idea of what was going on, but he could tell, he thought, where the spontaneous inability to stay conscious had come from. The issue was, he was having a hard time telling what that was exactly. Whatever it was, it was powerful, that was for certain, and it was also external. Ezio dug around a little more, following the thread trying to figure out what it was coming from and how to sever it.

But as he got closer to what he thought was the origin source, it became harder for him to make any sense of the magical pulses he was getting back. And then finally, a sudden _ZAP_ went off, and Ezio was thrown backward into the wall, slamming his head into it. Ezio cursed colourfully, holding his head for a moment, and then stood back up.

"Alright," he said in quiet French. "You want to play dirty, let's fucking play dirty. No one gets to Morgyn without going through me first, and you won't be any different."

Ezio focused his energies, pulling at the twists and knots of magic; but no matter how he pulled at it, the magic refused to unravel. Pieces of it would begin to fray, and then it would come right back together again. After several more attempts, Ezio snarled in frustration, throwing ice at the opposite wall, and then he went back to prowling around the room, this time in a semi-circle around the bed.

Okay, that wasn't working. That was some kind of _impressive_ , given Ezio was one of the strongest spellcasters alive, so if he couldn't do it, whatever this was had to be fairly _impressive_. It did beg the question even more, what it was and what it was for. But of course, it was a threat to Morgyn, and that meant he had to deal with it, not _study_ it, as much as he may want to. The magic felt old, but only in some places. In others, it seemed newer. Not _recent_ , just newer. In which case, it was a great thing, woven together over centuries by multiple spellcasters, and he wasn't 100% sure what it was. It didn't feel familiar, and he would imagine something like that _would_ be.

Ezio stopped, his face lighting up. No, he knew what to do. He turned around, and went back to working his magic, linking bits and pieces of magical thread together, _rewiring_ it as you would. The cords and twine of the magic moved around as Ezio willed it, one side over the other, disconnecting from this and reconnecting to this instead. Ezio heard, many times, usually from Morgyn, as it happened, that he was a prodigal master of magic, but he never believed it before. Anyone else could do something like this, too, if they had the will to bother trying to. He wasn't entirely sure what it was he was attempting with this mess, but he let the magic guide him, changing his plans and altering his course slightly as he went.

And then, a sudden _burst_ of pain lit up behind his eyes, at the base of his skull, in all of his joints at once. At first, he thought it to be another defence mechanism the magic was using to protect itself from being tampered with, but then he realised this was the unhindered pain that Morgyn would've been dealing with if he hadn't cast those protective spells on the idiot earlier. It was so intense it was almost _blinding_ , and there was a strange urge to do something that he couldn't quite make out what was.

One last thread of magic clicked into place, and he heard the screeching, louder than he'd ever heard it before. He unleashed a screech of his own, from the shock of it and the pain that was building together, and then, everything slipped into darkness.


	16. I'm No Good at Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Benzi chibna looble bazebni gweb. Yes.  
> Also, the week of pain has begun.
> 
> It is also a little weird how few typos I make while writing these.
> 
> The Temple, Three Laws  
> Trivia: in my head canon, Lilith’s singing voice sounds like the lead singer of Three Laws.

_Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day…_

Lilith had no idea why that song was stuck in her head. She didn't remember hearing all of it before, either, which meant that was the only line in her head, and it was annoyingly repetitive. This could've been solved quite easily if she'd thought to bring her earbuds. As it was, between the hustle and bustle of a hospital, the scent of blood, death, and disease, the weird tension and not-tension, and the song in her head, it was hard to concentrate on her homework.

It was probably her own fault for trying to do her schoolwork in a hospital, she supposed. Lilith was _still_ looking for an opening to slip into Darrel's room and wake the sleeping beauty up. It was way past time for him to be conscious again, but hey, what did she know, she supposed. He could sleep forever, she guessed, it wasn't like his life was slipping away or anything. What a waste of time, sleeping was. There were times she was quite glad she didn't have to sleep anymore, and this was one, when she remembered she didn't have to sleep anymore, and what a waste of time it was.

As she scribbled across the sheet of paper in her lap, taking notes from the textbook to use in her term paper, she glanced over where the Charms sometimes sat. Lilith stayed well out of the way, but sometimes, it looked like Emilia was watching her through periphery. Of course, Emilia had a higher chance of recognising her, considering they'd spent a decent amount of time talking to each other.

Emilia told her not to come back, of course, but eh, Lilith still didn't usually do what she was told. She didn't _like_ being told what to do, even from Vlad, and she'd tolerate a great many things from Vlad just because he was her sire. But he was decent. And cranky. And _rude_. But overall maybe a decent guy.

Yep, maybe that last bit was pushing it.

Lilith flipped the page of the textbook, squinting at the information on the next page, trying to decide if it was relevant to her paper. Sometimes, it was difficult to say what was useful information, and what was less so. As she scanned the page, someone sat down next to her. The scent told her it was Emilia, without looking up at all.

Apparently, Lilith had gotten very familiar with Emilia's scent already. She wasn't going to think too hard about that.

"What are you _doing_?" Emilia asked in a stage whisper.

Lilith giggled, looking up at her through her eyelashes. "My _term paper_ , silly," she answered.

Emilia released a very put-upon sigh. "You know what I meant."

"Yes, I do," Lilith answered mildly.

"So?" Emilia said, raising an eyebrow.

"So what?"

"Oh my god." Emilia's head fell backward onto her seat.

That was cute. That wasn't a good thing to be thinking, either, so Lilith kept it to herself. "I'm going to fix it one way or another," Lilith said. "Really, it'd be better for your blood pressure to accept that much."

Emilia released another sigh. "Does the word 'murder' mean anything to you?"

"My kind are hard to kill," Lilith answered, raising a brow. "Besides, it's debatable whether my self-preservation instinct is fully operational. Most likely not. You get used to it."

"How did you even get into this side?" Emilia asked.

"I have friends that work here," Lilith answered, shrugging. "They pull strings for me from time to time. I owe them a few times over by now, but at least they're not annoyed at me."

Emilia looked like she was having trouble comprehending this level of stubbornness. Lilith was used to that, really. "I guess doing what others suggest is a good idea doesn't cross your mind as a good idea…?"

"Sometimes," Lilith says. "But I'm the one that messed this up. I'll be the one to fix it. Finding another one of me at my calibre willing to do so is next to impossible and you're already figuring out that fighting it with your science and your way of doing magic isn't going to work. The persistence is admirable, really, these things just don't work that way. It won't take me but five minutes. That's all I need."

Emilia was quiet, watching her. Lilith couldn't quite tell what she was thinking, but she was thinking pretty hard. "Fine," Emilia said. "I should be able to get you around Minerva later tonight. Until then, _please_ , go somewhere else. Anywhere else."

Lilith raised an eyebrow, but she nodded once, gathering her books up. "How late?" she asked, standing up.

Emilia looked like she'd momentarily forgotten how tall Lilith was, and then stood up, too, to make the height difference a bit less dramatic. "Nine or ten," she answered softly. "I think. I just need to get Minerva to come far enough away that it won't be a problem if you do vampire voodoo."

"It's not voodoo," Lilith said, raising an eyebrow. "That's something completely different and more in line with older witchcraft-"

"You know what I meant," Emilia said, rolling her eyes, and walking away. "Nine or ten."

"I do know what you meant, but the eyerolling is amusing," Lilith said, but then she smiled a little, turned around, and burst into black mist.

* * *

Now she had to figure out what to do in the meantime. She still had a decent amount of work to do for her term paper, but she wasn't interested in going home. Caleb was spending a little more time with Morgyn anymore. They'd found Ezio passed out on the floor the morning before, but no one had any idea why. His heart wasn't in distress, he was just unconscious for some reason. Last she'd heard, Drake was trying to figure out why, because Morgyn was a frantic mess.

She also wasn't terribly interested in going to the library. She didn't necessarily want to deal with people right now. Sometimes, just their _presence_ was annoying, but at the same time, she liked being around them and meeting new people. Lilith tended to talk a bit with more or less everyone she came across, even if she ended up going away again later. Lilith could only handle interaction in short bursts. It was kind of weird, really.

Maybe she was just worried about Ezio and couldn't think straight or something. She felt a little more irritable than normal, anyway. That could be why. Unlike most people seemed to, Lilith didn't have very strong emotions. Most of the time, she hardly knew what she felt, if she felt anything at all. Her emotional responses were so faint and vague, they were difficult to identify as a reaction at all, and it was normal for her to brush them off as mere coincidence. Certainly, they never felt strong enough to seem like something that she was doing for a reason. Just, something that happened to occur. Most things she did seemed to be that way. Like she was here, and also wasn't here at all.

Instead of spending too long trying to figure out where to go, Lilith had ended up heading for Forgotten Hollow. Vladislaus wasn't the best guy in the world, of course, but he _was_ still her sire, and he usually wasn't too terrible towards her, at least. Lilith would never go so far as to call them _friendly_ , or even remotely close most of the time. It was a perpetual state of tolerance for them.

Maybe they were more like siblings in a lot of ways. They mutually made one another's lives hell, in a sense, but they moved on from it eventually. Unless it was useful for making fun of each other later, of course. If you weren't going to rub someone else's mistakes in their face then what was the point in knowing them, right?

Something felt off, as she got into the Hollow's boundaries. Like the place was completely off-kilter somehow, and she couldn't immediately identify what was wrong. Instead of thinking about it too hard and lingering in one place for what could easily turn out to be too long, she moved towards the centre courtyard and up the hill that led to Straud manor. As she got close to it, however, the feeling of wrongness became stronger and then, she smacked right into something she couldn't see.

A barrier, she realised, as it shimmered to life long enough to repel her, and then disappeared again. Why was there a barrier around Straud manor?

She almost moved around it, to try and see how far it went, or if perhaps she could discern where it was coming from exactly, but before she made it very far, she heard a familiar voice. Lilith stopped.

"Ah, Miss Hell did say you'd make it here sooner or later," Markus said. "You're a bit later than I expected you to be, but I'm not surprised. It's hard to form bonds with someone like Straud anyway."

What was that supposed to mean? Well, never mind. He seemed to be implying that Lilith should've sensed something off through the sire-childer bond. Unfortunately, it wasn't always that easy, and Lilith wasn't sure if they were close enough to sense each other that way. There were sire-childer pairs that managed to feel almost everything the other did, seemed to operate in some ways as one person rather than two. Lilith wasn't sure she wanted to be _that_ close to Vladislaus of all people, anyway.

"You'd probably better go," Markus said. "Unless you want to die next."

"Next?" Lilith asked, raising her eyebrows.

Markus snorted. "Oh come on, you're not that dumb," he said. "You know what that means."

Slowly, the light dawned. Though Lilith rather wished it didn't. She had no idea what it was that went off in her somewhere, a burning feeling in her chest again. "Markus, you didn't-" she whispered.

"There was just ashes left on the floor when Miss Hell and I got here," Markus interrupted. "Don't know what happened, exactly. Good riddance."

The burning feeling became stronger, and then with a loud shriek, Lilith loosed a psychic bolt at him. It was strong enough it crashed into the barrier and almost damaged it, but then richocheted right back at her. Markus cursed under his breath and threw a bolt of his own.

And for once, Lilith did the smart thing, turned around, and ran. Halfway down the hill, a second psychic bolt chasing her, she stopped, turned back around to look at him, and burst into black mist.

* * *

It'd be painful, if it was any stronger than it was. It did make it difficult to breathe, somehow, and when she reformed in the living room of the apartment she shared with Caleb, it was badly aimed. The coffee table flipped over, crashed into the television stand, and sent the television to the floor. And then she made the mistake of backing up into a side table, and a lamp shattered on the floor.

The entire sequence was loud and jarring, and Lilith didn't care. The burning in her chest was still there, something she couldn't reach to get rid of, and she hated the feeling of it. Lilith hated the feeling of _most_ things. The blond sat down right where she was, near the wall, in the corner, rocking slightly. From time to time, she had to blink her vision clear again, because she was crying, just a little, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

Markus was stupid, and he was probably lying, even if it was on accident, because he didn't know better one way or another. He'd made a snap judgement as he always did, and he was wrong, it was that simple. So why was she so upset?

Banging against the door sounded, and Lilith startled for once in her long life. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she could hear grumbling on the other side of the door, and the voice was Geeta's. The burning feeling in her chest got stronger, and Lilith stood up, just as Caleb made it out of the bathroom, crossed over to the door and yanked it open.

"What the heck is with all the _noise_ over-" Geeta started.

"Just stop!" Lilith interrupted. "You will leave, me, alone, or the things that go bump in the night will _rip your throat out_ , do you _understand_ me?"

Clearly, Geeta had not been expecting that because she instantly went silent, staring in surprise, alarm, and clear confusion. Lilith didn't give her the opportunity to regain her bearings, and simply slammed the door in her face.

Lilith hardly cared what she did after, turning back around, sliding to the floor behind the door.

It was only a moment or two, and then Caleb had knelt down beside her, reached over and took her hands in his. He didn't say anything, and when her eyes met his, so unlike her own, her throat closed, and she moved to hug him. It was a temporary thing, as all things were. Eventually, she'd get past this and move on, but right now, the burning in her chest hurt, and she didn't know what to do with it, as she never knew what to do with anything she ever felt.

Caleb didn't ask questions. Instead, he let her cry, if that was what she was going to do, though Lilith could see it in the way he sat there that he didn't know what to do with it any more than she did. It'd distressed him, as Lilith's stronger emotions often did. It was something of a nasty cycle. Lilith bottled until there was no choice but to let it out, Caleb didn't know what to do with her having feelings, and so she bottled some more to avoid upsetting him. That wasn't what he'd want, she was sure. That didn't sound like him, at least. But she didn't know what else to do. The truth was, Lilith never really did know what to do with anything at all. She was just good at pretending otherwise.

"He's gone," she whispered. "Vladislaus. He's gone."

"Forever gone?" Caleb asked.

Lilith just nodded.

Caleb drew a breath in, readjusting Lilith somewhat so that he could hold her properly, without anything going to sleep for either of them. And she could see it, in his eyes, that he had no idea what to say. She didn't know, either.

Finally, he shook his head. "Just let it out, Lilith," he said quietly. "Don't hold it in like you usually do."

Lilith shook her head, her hands raising to brush her tears away. "No, I'm sorry," she said. "It's just, I just reacted, and I didn't think about you."

"Lilith no," Caleb said, taking her hands. "Don't be sorry for having feelings, it's okay, to feel things."

"I don't like them anyway and neither do you," Lilith said.

"What?" Caleb asked. And then, something seemed to click in his head, and he groaned. "No, Lilith, that's not… you're my sister. Of course I'm going to be upset when you are, that's how empathy _works_. I don't like seeing you in pain but, Lils I've always been happy that you let me see it. I want to help if I can. I can't do that if you shove me out, please, don't shove me back out again."

Lilith stopped, watching him for a moment, because the idea was confusing, and yet in thinking about it, she could apply it to a thousand other things and suddenly, it made sense. It made _perfect_ sense, and she felt stupid. Then, whenever there were emotions and feelings involved, Lilith felt stupid. She didn't get them, maybe she never would. There was something seriously wrong with her, she'd known that for a long time now. This was just reaffirmation.

"What does it feel like?" he asked.

"Burning," Lilith answered, and tapped her chest. "Right here. Sometimes, it squeezes."

"It's a heartache," he said. "And maybe a bit of anger in there."

The explanation truthfully only confused her more. She didn't understand why she'd feel either of those things. Maybe it was best not to worry about it too much, right now. Instead, Lilith shifted around and leaned against Caleb's shoulder. She didn't have to make sense of it right now. Maybe, right now, she just had to feel whatever it was.

* * *

"I just don't understand why I'm so upset," Lilith said, idly stirring her tea. She'd calmed down some, by now, though it wasn't gone by any means. She could still feel it smouldering in her chest somewhere. She'd decided, at least, that she still didn't like the feeling of having emotions. They were too much, too overwhelming, too noisy, disruptive, she didn't like them. Maybe Lilith had started shoving her emotions down to make it to the next step, to be able to keep moving forward even as she wanted to stop, but now she continued to shove them down because she didn't like emotions anymore.

Caleb settled down beside her with his own cup of tea. He didn't say anything at first, just stirring his cup, eyeing where the television used to be. It'd been utterly destroyed, but maybe later, Morgyn could fix it, if the blond was feeling up to doing so.

"Vladislaus… he's your sire, Lilith," Caleb said. "It's not like you hate him, and, he's your mentor, too. He taught you almost everything you know about being a vampire and living as one. I'd be more surprised if you _weren't_ upset."

Lilith sighed. He was right, she supposed. It was probably just that she had a lot of frustration with her own habit of having feelings at all. That was what people were _supposed_ to do, but Lilith didn't like them. If she had a choice, she'd have rid herself of those pesky things a long time ago.

She wanted to be Kassander, Lilith thought. He was never bothered by anything, always a vision of grace and composure.

Oh. Grace and composure. Now where did she hear that before…

Now wasn't the time to be examining her childhood traumas. Lilith set her teacup down on the coffee table, only slightly damaged with her terrible landing. "It's not like we were very close," she said. "Vlad and I tolerated each other, you'd think I'd be _glad_ he's gone, at least a little."

"Well, not exactly," Caleb said. "You know how the Embers tend to fight a lot, but they still really love each other?"

"Yeah?" Lilith answered, eyebrow raising.

"Sometimes not agreeing with someone, and finding a way to put aside those differences, they make your bond with each other stronger than you'd think it would," Caleb explained. "Other times, it's the fighting that's how you show that you care, in a way."

"That doesn't make sense," Lilith said. "Fighting is bad, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Caleb answered. "If you're fighting, you still care enough to want to be heard, rather than to walk away. That's something, even if it doesn't seem like it is. Not everyone that fights can work through their disagreements and see through their own pain long enough to see the other person's. That's when fighting is bad. But when you can release enough of your own anger and frustration to understand the other person's point of view, you grow closer together, begin to build a bond that is nearly unbreakable. I think you and Vlad got there eventually."

Lilith thought about that, for a moment. It sounded silly, now that she was thinking about it, but maybe… well, it was _likely_ that he was right. He would know, of course, way better than she did. "He always drove me nuts," Lilith said. "But I think I knew that his inaction wasn't really inaction. He was teaching me how to do it without him, because he knew he couldn't shield me from everything."

Caleb smiled. "Yeah, I think so," he said. "You know, it's almost like Vlad was the father that you needed ours to be, that he wasn't."

"I was always like this, huh?" Lilith asked.

Caleb snorted. "No," he said. "When we were kids, you were quieter, and not, somehow. It's hard to explain. You were more concerned about how other people saw you, what they thought of you. It's almost like you were trying to become who you thought everyone else wanted you to be, but then realised at some point that whoever that was, she wasn't you. The changes were a bit subtle, but still, they were there all the same."

He was probably right. She was a headstrong person, tenacious and bold, if a little too much so at times. Lilith would call herself fearless, but there were things she was afraid of, just ostensibly they weren't the _right_ things to be afraid of. And now, with Vladislaus gone, she felt weirdly alone, in some ways. Caleb was still here, she still had her friends, too, but it wasn't the same thing.

It would be strange to get used to him not being here.

Lilith reached over, taking her cup, and a drink of tea, before setting it back down. She then laid her head on Caleb's shoulder. "I don't know what to do now," she said quietly.

"Sure you do," Caleb said, taking her hand. "But you know, with him gone, Miss Hell will be making a power bid for the Hollow. She always did want control of it."

Lilith snorted softly. "Not sure why it matters," she said. "It's not like _I_ want control of the Hollow. I always hated it."

Caleb looked unconvinced, but he didn't argue with that specifically. "I know you do, or at least you _think_ you do and whether you do or not is in the air. The point is, you're his successor. Everyone knows that. _You're_ the one he wanted to take over after him. He told me once that you're the right kind of delicate and progressive to be able to lead the Hollow forward into the present day. I don't imagine his feelings on the matter have changed since then."

Lilith released a sigh, standing up and pacing. She knew he was right about that. Vladislaus had made offhanded comments that seemed to indicate such to her before. At the time, her taking over Forgotten Hollow because he'd gone and died seemed like such a faraway event. Something that existed in a universe and a time that she'd never see, because Vladislaus was always going to be there.

But that wasn't always how reality turned out, now was it? He was gone. Miss Hell was unlikely to care about that, and dive straight into a territory war, and if nothing else, leaving those that still lived in the Hollow to her nonexistent mercy went against Lilith's values. Quite frankly, Vladislaus _likely_ hadn't pushed the subject because he knew this would happen and Lilith wouldn't be able to ignore it, either because Miss Hell threatened the relative peace and well-being of those that lived in Forgotten Hollow, or because Lilith just hated Miss Hell _that_ much, either or.

There were times Lilith _almost_ hated him, and one of those times was now. But somehow, she couldn't help being exasperatedly charmed by how well he knew her, as grating as it was.

"If anyone can take Miss Hell down," Caleb said, "it would be you."

Lilith stopped, looking over at him. "I don't think I can lead. Or keep order the way he did, I'm not that kind of person."

"I know," Caleb answered. "And that's exactly why you'd be a better leader for the Hollow than anyone else would. It's time the Hollow learnt how to breathe."

* * *

She had a lot to think about. How exactly Caleb could manage to spend so much time talking to her when Morgyn was a wreck right now, that Lilith didn't know. Maybe that was just part of caring about someone, making the time for them when they needed you more than you needed to be upset. It sounded right in her head, kind of nice, too. To be able to let go of things to be support for someone else, even for a little while, but she'd established, even only in her own head, that she was a little _too_ good at letting things go.

As it was, she'd lost the entire day by chance, talking to Caleb about Vladislaus and the future of Forgotten Hollow. She'd need to break that barrier around the manor, if she was going to take control of it after Vladislaus (and maybe she would, even if only to preserve it). But right now, it was time to finally be done with these silly spellcasters. She'd returned to the hospital, and was sitting in one of the waiting rooms, reading over a magazine. Sooner or later, either Emilia would find her, or she'd sense and go find Emilia, either one. At the moment, Lilith couldn't be bothered to care which it was.

The woman would say she felt a bit better after crying on Caleb for an hour and having some tea, but, not really. It was more of an overall sense of hollow numbness. She didn't think that was necessarily _better_. But it was good enough for right now. It would seem she had some internal reflection and analysing to do, given apparently she didn't understand her own relationship with Vladislaus. Being completely fair about it, her relationship with Vladislaus was and probably always would be the weirdest one she'd ever had. He was something of an enigma, and to be fair about it, she probably was, too.

Lilith didn't _like_ complicated things, but tended to have exposure to a great many of them all the same.

Somewhere between the Chanel ad and this article about traits men found attractive in women, someone sat down next to her. Lilith glanced over the top of the magazine, finding Emilia sitting there, and then scooted backward in the chair.

"Imagine running into you around here," she said, and then decided not to try making jokes anymore for a while. They sounded weirdly flat.

Emilia snorted. "Yeah, imagine that," she said. "I think I can get Minerva away from Darrel's room for a bit. I'm going to drag her off to the vending machines for a coffee. You should have a few minutes, and that's the best I can offer."

Lilith closed the magazine, setting it down on the coffee table in front of the chairs. "That's the best I need," she said.

"Good," Emilia said. "You'll need to wait a minute and not be where Minerva can sense you. I'm not sure how you're going to get up there I guess, because you'll have to slip past her because his room is close to it."

Lilith smiled, and then burst into dark mist. Emilia loosed a startled gasp, as the mist seeped into the walls. And then she blinked once.

"Well, I wasn't expecting _that_ one," she grumbled. "That'll work."

The spellcaster stood up, shuffled down the hallway. As she stopped next to Minerva, the two exchanged words for a moment or two, before Minerva stood up, and, seemingly annoyed, followed Emilia to the vending machines. The woman waved at the air behind her back as they went. Lilith slipped through the wall, following the sense of the spellcaster she was starting to recognise as Darrel Charm.

As she pulled back out of it and reformed into her physical form, she realised staying in mist form for that long had the unfortunate side-effect of being painful. She held her head for a moment, and then looked around. She shuffled over to Darrel, still out like a light as she expected, hooked up to too many machines, and held her hand out. She still didn't know what her psychic bolt had _done_ exactly, so it would take a moment to figure it out, but she'd better work quickly before it was too late and Minerva started something in a _hospital_.

But, as she got close, her psychic energy reaching for his, she could sense _exactly_ what had happened. The tricky part was fixing it, because it'd been that way for a long time now. Well, if she just did _this_ … his mind wouldn't like it any more than everything _else_ she could do with it, but it would perhaps not fight it as ferociously, and he _should_ regain consciousness and function.

How were they keeping him alive anyway? Well, never mind. Humans, they were very tragically fragile, but also very easy to repair. The body and its varying functions weren't what made things difficult.

The energy left her fingers, just as the door opened. Minerva walked in, glanced up at her, and looked surprised for a moment. Emilia, just behind her, very visibly winced. And then magic pooled in Minerva's hands.

"I don't want to fight you here," she said, her tone low.

Lilith stood up straighter. "You won't have to," she said, and then burst into mist.

Minerva cursed, and as the mist leaked into the walls, Darrel loosed a grunt.

"Wait, Minerva," Emilia said, her eyes lighting up. "Darrel?" she asked softly.

"Why is it so _bright_?" Darrel grumbled, one hand raising to his head, but it didn't get there before Emilia claimed it in her grasp.

"Darrel, you're awake," she whispered.

"Can't stare at you very easily if I'm not," he said, smirking.

Emilia turned a little pink across her nose, but then moved over and wrapped her arms around him. The smile wouldn't leave her face.

"I'll go get your sister," Minerva said, opening the door and leaving.

Emilia glanced at the wall, over Darrel's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered.


	17. Black Stars and Endless Seas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May Ezio’s coffee table finally rest in pieces. It made it long and far, before being valiantly defeated. Also, Morgyn decided to go goth for a second for this chapter I guess.
> 
> I was listening to a totally different song doing this, but oh well.
> 
> Also, I said the other day I’m writing this so damn slowly but actually… every other day pretty darn consistently… that’s actually quite fast.
> 
> Cosmos, t.A.T.u.

"There's some magic residue in there that I can't figure out what is," Drake said, shuffling around the other side and sitting down. "I didn't mess with it too much, I'd rather not cause more damage on accident."

Morgyn looked down at Ezio. He was still too quiet, and hadn't moved the entire time he was there, either. It was unnerving, but then, things like this happened from time to time. Morgyn would say that one got used to it, but maybe it was something that no one ever _really_ got used to.

They'd been trying to figure out what had happened and what to do about it for several days now. Ezio had been unconscious that entire time, and Morgyn was getting more and more concerned about it as time went on, but the blond supposed that much was to be expected. Someday, Ezio could fall asleep and never wake up, and Morgyn knew that, probably too well. It was always in the back of the blond's mind.

Ezio liked to say that he wasn't _really_ at a higher risk of dying than anyone else was, but he was. It was just something he said to make Morgyn feel better, or maybe it was for himself or Drake's benefit, but the fact of the matter was, he did have a higher chance of dying than the average person did, no matter what he said about it. Morgyn wished it was that simple, that _easy_ , but it just wasn't.

It was probably just how Ezio dealt with it. They all dealt with it in different ways. Ezio pretended that it didn't give him a higher chance of dying at any given moment. Drake never left him alone for too long. And Morgyn, as always Morgyn did, half ran away from it, and half obsessed over it. It was the only reason the blond was in the biology degree programme in the first place, in a last-ditch effort to find something that would magically solve all their problems.

Things like this, though, they didn't always magically go away, and Morgyn knew, even as the blond hadn't accepted it, that magic just didn't solve everything. It was easier, somehow, to keep what hope there was alive, easier to keep going, easier not to have a breakdown every few days.

"The migraine is gone," Morgyn said. "The one I had before."

Drake looked up at the blond, and frowned. "You think he did something?"

Morgyn shrugged. "It's the only thing that really makes sense," the blond answered. "I was sleeping so consistently before, it was almost like I was unconscious." And it would be just like Ezio to intervene in something like that. As frustrating as it was, Morgyn also knew that if their roles were reversed, maybe the blond would be doing the exact same things. There was no way to really know.

"He could've done just about anything," Drake said. "Maybe he just fixed it, and it wore him down."

"Then why isn't he awake yet?" Morgyn asked.

Drake didn't seem to have an answer, because he went quiet, looking back down at Ezio, and then reached over and took one of his hands. Morgyn was being a little unfair in concern, of course, but the blond's patience waned thin at the best of times.

Morgyn watched Ezio's chest rise and fall. His cat still hadn't been by. Morgyn was a little worried that he'd run away or something, but that was probably the least troublesome concern right now. Morgyn certainly didn't want to be telling Ezio that Mayor still hadn't come home when he woke up, but maybe it wouldn't come up. Maybe Ezio would just know, without being told about it.

Everything felt wrong and off right now, and then this happened. Morgyn wasn't sure how to take it, or what to do from here. At least Ezio was still breathing, and he didn't seem to be in distress or anything.

Such strange occurrences they lived through, because magic caused unexpected and unnatural effects. If they were all normal humans, finding Morgyn's twin brother passed out on the floor would've probably warranted a hospital visit. Morgyn had warmed up to hospitals, by now. Ezio was in and out of them more or less constantly since the eighties, but the blond had never quite come to _like_ them. Rather, they tended to set the blond's nerves on edge. Almost like the blond had latent necromancer abilities that hadn't ever quite made it to full realisation, and the blond was sensing something.

There were plenty of dead things to sense in hospitals, the blond was sure.

"If he dies," Morgyn started, but Drake raised his head.

"No," he said. "He's not going to die."

Morgyn made a face. " _If_ he does," Morgyn went on, "and you have never told him how you feel, you're going to regret that for the rest of your life."

Apparently that had never crossed Drake's mind, because the vampire blinked in surprise, and then looked back down at Ezio. And, as they'd been since they found him, the two went silent again. There were silences that weren't so bad. This one was tense and terrible.

Morgyn wanted Ezio back, more than the blond had ever wanted anything.

* * *

Nothing had changed. Morgyn felt like the world was simultaneously too quiet, and too loud, and mostly spent time reading through course materials, reading science papers and articles (it turned out, science was fascinating, which boded well for the blond not being utterly _miserable_ the entire way through biology), and listening to music. Drake spent most of his time writing, either in a notebook next to Ezio, or on his laptop, still next to Ezio.

Morgyn at least remembered to take breaks here and there, and those were spent on the other side of Ezio, trying not to be too nervous, not to think about it too hard, not to panic. It was easier said than done, of course, and the more time went on, the more it reminded Morgyn of the times Ezio spent a few days to a few weeks in the hospital. The more time went on, the more Morgyn wondered if this was another time Ezio needed to be in the hospital.

By now, the blond had accepted a little discomfort in exchange for Ezio recovering, from whatever it was this time. So even though the blond hated hospitals, Morgyn got over it when Ezio needed to be in one. That was what love was, right? Dealing with hospitals if it meant someone you loved was going to be okay.

Morgyn sat at the dining room table, idly flipping through a science book. Caleb shuffled around behind the blond in the kitchen, making something. Ezio's leftovers had run out, and he still wasn't awake, so the blond still wasn't going back to the _Casa_ anytime soon. Not until Ezio was awake. Drake didn't do so well alone either (how like an Ember), and could use the company, anyway.

"Nothing's changed?" Caleb asked.

"No," Morgyn answered, leaning against one hand, propped up on the table. "There's a weird magical residue, and something feels wrong, but I haven't exactly pinpointed what, and Drake doesn't seem to have any better ideas than I do." It was a little bit unnerving, but Ezio wasn't getting _worse_ , at least.

"You think this is supernatural?" Caleb asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"I think so," Morgyn replied. "It doesn't seem to be related to his heart, or anything, so it would make more sense if it was magic-related." The blond wouldn't admit it, but more than once there had been the impression there was something looking for Morgyn. And truthfully, it wasn't far-fetched to think that Ezio had sensed it, too, and reacted like he always did. He had always said whoever wanted to get to Morgyn had to go through him, first. Thus far, it hadn't proven to be just talk, either.

Morgyn tried not to think about it.

Caleb reached over, setting something down in front of Morgyn. Looked like the blond's lunch was almost done. Caleb did know he didn't have to keep coming over here and feeding them, right? Looking at it, Morgyn realised he'd also instinctively cooked within the range of Ezio's dietary restrictions.

He was ridiculous as _fuck_.

"Thanks," Morgyn said.

Caleb shuffled around a little for a moment, and then sat down across from the blond with a plasma fruit smoothie. He and Drake seemed to love those. Maybe it was a marshmallow vampire thing. Lilith didn't seem to _dislike_ them, they just also didn't seem to be her favourite.

"If he doesn't get any better," Caleb said, "maybe you should call Troi. She'd probably have a better idea of what to do about now."

Morgyn glanced up at him, and then sighed. He was right, and Morgyn knew that. Troi was the medical professional, not Morgyn. Maybe by the end of this biology degree, the blond would understand this whole thing a little better (god Morgyn sure _hoped_ so), but right now, Troi was better at it. Ezio trusted her with _Morgyn's_ life, Morgyn should probably trust her with his, because Ezio didn't trust _anyone_ with Morgyn. Well, save for Caleb. Morgyn would consider the implications of that some other time.

"You're probably right," Morgyn said. "I'm just afraid to, I think. I still want to pretend this isn't happening, but it is." Of course it was. Things really _didn't_ just go away because you'd decided to close your eyes to them. All that did was blind you.

"Yeah, I can see why," Caleb said. "But think of it this way, the sooner you call Troi and ask for her advice, the sooner you can perhaps work towards fixing it."

"If it's magical like I think," Morgyn pointed out, "Troi can't necessarily help with that."

"She knows about the occult stuff," Caleb said.

"Yes," Morgyn answered, nodding, "but that's not the same thing as understanding how to fight it." _That_ , of course, was Morgyn's job. Of course, Morgyn hadn't been doing a very good job of fighting it, either. Drake had been trying, but hadn't come up with anything. Maybe later, Morgyn would attempt to fix it for once. Morgyn was afraid of making it worse, somehow. Magic did strange things sometimes, but then, the blond _was_ a sage, and one of the most powerful spellcasters alive. If anyone could fix it, it'd be an Ember, Morgyn imagined. Unfortunately, Ezio wasn't doing anything himself right now.

"So," Caleb started, clearing his throat. "I know now's not a good time, but, I was hoping you'd be up for another date with me?"

Morgyn's head tilted slightly to one side. "You know, you can just, take me places, right?" the blond asked.

"Oh." Caleb blinked.

Clearly, that idea hadn't crossed his mind. Morgyn looked a bit confused.

"I mean I didn't want to just _assume_ ," Caleb said.

"I've never said no, right?" Morgyn said. "Besides, we do appear to be dating. That's what you do when you're dating someone, isn't it? Go out on dates?" Unless, of course, the blond had it all wrong, but Morgyn didn't think so.

"I suppose you're right," Caleb said. "It just seemed a little rude to me to assume you'd want to come."

Morgyn laughed. "Caleb, we've known each other for years," the blond said. "I trust you. Just wander in and drag me off, I won't set you on fire or anything."

Caleb looked like he wanted to say something, but then smiled slightly and nodded. "Okay then."

* * *

Unfortunately, Morgyn couldn't miss any more class, or it was going to start impacting the blond's grade. Despite not really wanting to leave Ezio's side, thus, Morgyn was here, on campus, trying to find the blond's way around. The science courses were all in one specific building, but there was a slight bit of trouble getting around. The blond could figure it out, Morgyn was sure, so the blond kept trying.

However, something else caught Morgyn's attention. The blond had come here very early, there were still a few hours left before the start of the first class. If Morgyn was careful not to spend too long chasing that sensation, perhaps Morgyn could figure out where it was coming from and still not be late getting in. Morgyn's head tilted to the side, as the blond debated it internally for a few moments. Then, Morgyn's hands tossed up into the air and the blond scurried off after the feeling of dormant magic.

Once a sage, always a sage.

It led across the Britechester grounds, and then across the river and into Gibbs Hill. Morgyn was a little nervous about following it this far, because being late wouldn't look terribly good, either. But, the blond kept moving. The sense of dormant magic grew stronger, and then Morgyn found it. A dark brown-haired young woman, with pale skin and almond-shaped eyes. Morgyn couldn't really tell from where the blond was, but she looked to have different coloured eyes. One looked dark, and the other looked lighter.

As Morgyn thought that, she kicked the concrete wrongly, and fell forward. With a great squeal, she hit the walkway, and Morgyn loosed a startled noise, rushing over. "Are you okay?" Morgyn asked, reaching down and gathering the books she'd dropped up.

"Yeah," she answered, sounding a hair exasperated. "I just tripped on air like I always do, nothing seriously-" She trailed off, as she looked up at the blond.

Morgyn was right; one eye was green, and the other was a dark brown. The combination was as beautiful as it was startling. She was rather pretty, too. Morgyn smiled slightly, handing her the stack of books. "Tripping on air sounds annoying," Morgyn said.

The woman's breath seemed to get caught in her throat.

It was a good thing Morgyn was used to that reaction. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah!" she said. "Sorry, that was rude, gosh, I just, how did you get your eyeliner so _perfect_ , look at it! How did you _do_ that?"

That was unexpected. Morgyn blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I keep trying to get a good cat eyeliner worked out but it never wants to do it for me, but yours is _gorgeous_! I mean, you are too, it's just-you know what I think I'd better shut up," she said, laughing slightly, and standing.

Morgyn reached over instinctively, helping her up. She did, in fact, have that jolt of magic under her skin, but she didn't seem aware it was there. Not that Morgyn had _asked_. "Usually when people stare at me like that… well. But I think your eyes are beautiful enough on their own."

The woman blinked. "Polite, beautiful, eyeliner game on point, not shy about compliments, common sense is telling me I should get your number."

Morgyn snorted. "If you actually want it-"

"No!" the woman interrupted. "No it's-I mean I was joking it's not… I mean people like _you_ don't-"

"People like me…?" Morgyn prompted.

"Really pretty people, I mean," the woman said. "Sorry, I'm really off right now. Okay. Let's try this again, I'm Liberty, and thanks for the help getting my pride off the sidewalk."

"Really pretty people are still people," Morgyn said, smiling. "But I'm Morgyn. Morgyn Ember."

"Ah? Liberty Lee," Liberty said.

Morgyn's eyes narrowed slightly. Lee…

"And I know, it's just, you're not the first really pretty person I've run into here, and I'm just thinking, wow, I'm really out of my league here. Why did I come to university again? A pay raise and a promotion is why, if you were wondering. Not that you were."

Morgyn smiled. "I was kind of wondering. What are you in?"

"Physics," Liberty said.

"Biology," Morgyn mentioned.

"Ooh, you going to be a doctor or a marine biologist?" Liberty asked.

Uh. Witch doctor? Did that count? "Neither, actually," Morgyn answered. "It's sort of a curiosity thing. My twin brother's got a disability, so I want to know a little more about how health works and whatnot. On the off-chance I can help, somehow."

"Oh." Liberty sounded a bit sad. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Morgyn shrugged. "It's life anymore, I've gotten used to it." Standing this close to her, Morgyn could tell she had a very strong bloodline. And her last name… if she _was_ from the Lee lineage that Morgyn thought she was, she was one of the five families, one of the _last_ of the five families. To make matters worse, if Morgyn was understanding Aine's ambitions back then correctly, she was in a _lot_ of danger.

The binding on her magic was coming undone, whether she was ready or not.

Come to think of it, Morgyn had to wonder if Aine had anything to do with what was going on now. Between that freak cold Morgyn got and Ezio's condition now, it screamed of magic tampering, and Morgyn wasn't sure why the thought hadn't crossed the blond's mind _before_. Likely, because Morgyn didn't like to think about Aine anymore. There were a lot of unresolved issues with her that Morgyn had simply cast aside and ignored for thirty years. But it was better that way.

"Anyway, I've gotta run," Morgyn said. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Liberty said. "Thanks for the help, again."

"And, if you were serious…" Morgyn paused long enough to write down the blond's number, tear the paper off, and hand it to her. "That's my number."

Liberty looked surprised, but she took the paper.

"Maybe sometime I'll show you how I do my eyeliner," Morgyn said, smiling and scurrying off towards Britechester.

Liberty watched the blond go, and then cursed under her breath. "Should've enrolled in Britechester, if they all look like _that_."

* * *

The room was silent, save for the sound of Morgyn's pen scritching against the paper, and Ezio's rhythmic breaths. Strangely, though, while Morgyn was working on homework, the blond couldn't help thinking about Liberty. She needed to be taught magic, and _soon_ , because if Morgyn was right about her bloodlines, she had the potential to be one of the most powerful spellcasters alive, maybe stronger than Morgyn and Ezio were, given long enough. In such case, if Aine was after what Morgyn _thought_ she was after, then catching one of the five families would definitely be a boon to her.

As Morgyn worked, the other hand was idly running through Ezio's hair, weaving spells into the raven strands. The way Morgyn figured, _eventually_ , maybe one of them would start working. It was the best idea that Morgyn had. Magical problems usually needed to be solved with magical solutions, and short of getting Lilith to go poking around in his head to figure out what was going on, Morgyn had few other ideas.

In the meantime, there was _still_ the issue of Aine. Morgyn hadn't seen or heard from or about her since she'd left. All the untamed sages disappeared eventually, so when she was just _gone_ , it wasn't surprising to Morgyn, though it did beg the question of what had happened to all the untamed sages before. Aine was gone because Morgyn had run her out of magic realm.

And then for some damn fool reason, the All had _still_ chosen Morgyn to replace her, like _that_ wasn't a bad idea, but what did Morgyn know of the All's thought process? Nothing. Then again, Aine had been abusing her necromancy. Maybe the All agreed with Morgyn on that being a terrible idea.

Morgyn wasn't a full-blown necromancer, not like Aine and Ezio were, but from time to time, the blond was affected by the presence of spirits. Sometimes, Morgyn could _almost_ see them, except not quite. They were blurry shadows the blond mostly only caught from the corner of the eye, but Morgyn had come to understand they were spirits. Ezio saw them as clearly as anyone else still breathing and used to have trouble telling when he was looking at a dead person versus a living one.

Through him, Morgyn had learnt enough about necromancy to know that it inherently disrupted the natural flow of life and death, and mishandling it could cause damage to the dimensional fabric, to reality itself, even. There were many inherent dangers of it, starting with the innate disruption and ending somewhere over there at how all-consuming dealing with spirits could sometimes be. There were times when Ezio became someone that wasn't him because a spirit's presence was so strong it changed him.

Really, Morgyn wasn't upset about not being a proper necromancer. Between Ezio and watching Aine be driven mad by it, the blond didn't envy either of them.

As Morgyn idly petted Ezio's hair, his breathing changed. And then, one of his hands raised, and unburied Morgyn's from his hair.

"Oh thank god," Morgyn breathed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Ezio rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," he said. "I just did something that was draining."

"You've been unconscious for four days, Ezio," Morgyn said.

"And now I'm not." Ezio's tone implied he wasn't going to explain anything further. He rolled over a little, raising a hand to his head.

"Headache?" Morgyn asked.

"Yeah," Ezio answered. "It's fine, I'll-"

"No," Morgyn said, standing up and holding both hands out over his hair. Sparkles of blue and purple fell from Morgyn's fingers. A soothing spell, to ease the headache some.

"Thanks," Ezio said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Morgyn said. "No headache anymore. Haven't passed out or anything, either."

"Good," Ezio said. "Wasn't sure if what I did was going to work. Did I miss anything?"

"Just a lot of Drake moping," Morgyn said. "And something's wrong with Lilith, but I didn't really ask Caleb. I figured you could probably ask after her yourself. I ran into someone on the way to class this morning, too, she's-"

"I asked if I missed anything, not for your life story, Morgyn," Ezio interrupted, sitting up and looking annoyed.

Morgyn blinked. That was a bit abrupt, but Morgyn brushed it off. "Sorry," the blond said. "I'm just glad you're okay. I was going to call Troi soon if you didn't wake up."

"That'd be a dumb idea," Ezio answered. "She doesn't know how to fix magical problems."

"I figured as much," Morgyn said. "But it was worth a try. I didn't have many other options, besides."

"You could've waited and trusted I knew what I was doing," Ezio said.

Morgyn frowned. "Maybe, but I didn't _know_ what you did. Ezio I was worried, I-"

"You had no reason to be," Ezio said.

"You're not exactly known for making choices that aren't somehow dangerous to you-"

"And you're any fucking better?" Ezio interrupted, his voice raising. "Why do you always have to be on my case about shit like that as if you don't do the same damned thing?"

Morgyn physically recoiled slightly, and fell silent.

Ezio closed his eyes, took a breath, and then released it. "I'm sorry," he said. "The headache's just still here."

"Do you want some painkillers?" Morgyn asked, voice soft.

"Please," Ezio answered. "And some water."

"Okay." Morgyn marked the textbook with a bookmark, closing it and setting it aside, before standing up and wandering out into the kitchen. The painkillers were in the bathroom. As the blond went, Drake poked out of the office.

"He's awake?" he asked.

"Yes," Morgyn answered, nodding. "Could you get the painkillers from the bathroom? He has a headache." The blond pulled a glass out of the dish strainer, filling it with water.

"Sure," Drake replied, and then headed over to do that.

"Thanks," Morgyn said, shutting the tap off, and shuffling back around the counters and in Ezio's room. He'd laid back down, but as Morgyn came in, sat up again.

The blond handed him the glass, just as Drake came in and handed him the bottle of painkillers.

"Thank you," Ezio murmured, taking a drink of water before setting it on the side table and opening the bottle.

Morgyn sat back down in the blond's usual place, watching him. And the more Morgyn watched him, the stronger it became. The feeling that something was wrong.

* * *

"He feels different," Morgyn said, arms crossing. Morgyn and Caleb stood in the apartment hallway, outside the door to Ezio and Drake's apartment.

Caleb frowned. "How so?" he asked.

"I don't know," Morgyn answered, head turning to the side. "He just feels off. Like there's something wrong about him suddenly."

"Did he feel like that before he woke up?" Caleb asked.

Morgyn frowned. Actually, the blond hadn't been paying too much attention to it. He could've felt wrong somehow before, and the blond not have noticed it at all. It was hard to tell, but then, if it was that strong, Morgyn imagined the blond would've noticed it a day or two ago. No, that feeling was new.

"I don't think he did," Morgyn said.

"Well, there's no sense worrying about it too much," Caleb said. "Just keep an eye on him, if anything changes, go from there. Drake spends a lot of time with him, so tell him what's going on."

"Drake is the one that noticed it first," Morgyn said.

"That's good then," Caleb answered. "Two of you paying attention to it at the same time, one of you should notice it when something goes awry."

Yeah, Morgyn figured that was right. And it should make the blond feel better, but mostly, Morgyn was worried. Morgyn was _always_ worried about Ezio, it felt like, but now it was worse than normal. This was all just a little too coincidental, that was all.

"What's wrong?" Caleb asked.

Morgyn looked over at him, and then away again. "This is just too coincidental," the blond said. "I feel better, and suddenly Ezio doesn't, and now he's acting and feels weird?" Morgyn's head shook. "If someone was after me, Caleb, it would be all too easy to get Ezio as a side-effect, on accident, shit, on _purpose_ because Ezio defends me from everything."

Caleb was quiet for a moment, reaching over and taking one of Morgyn's hands. "So you think he did something?" he asked.

"I don't know," Morgyn said. "Maybe."

Caleb tilted his head, thinking. "Well, he'd die for you, everyone knows that. Maybe he did do something. Even if he did, I don't think he'd tell you, let alone what he did."

"Thanks," Morgyn said. "I needed the confirmation that my paranoia isn't just paranoia."

"I mean, this is maybe a good thing because it means he did it to himself?" Caleb suggested.

Morgyn loosed a frustrated noise, hands beating against the blond's forehead for a moment.

Caleb sucked in a breath and then pulled Morgyn over to him, arms wrapping around the blond. "It'll be okay."

It sure didn't _feel_ like it would. It felt like this was a warning or a precursor to something bigger. And if Morgyn thought about it, it'd felt like their peace was on thin ice for a long time now. What exactly had changed to make the ice start to crack, _that_ Morgyn didn't know, but the blond thought it finally was.

Morgyn started to say something, amid leaning against Caleb and listening to him breathe, but then something shifted in the air. Morgyn immediately separated from Caleb, paying attention and sensing around.

Caleb must've noticed Morgyn's alertness, because he looked perplexed, and then started sensing around, too. And then he frowned. Morgyn glanced at him, and he glanced back.

And then Ezio started screaming. Morgyn immediately bolted for the door, Caleb right behind, at the same time Drake shot out of the office. Ezio was a bit of a blur, out there in the living room fighting with a blanket, and then suddenly he was up and slamming something against the floor.

It took Morgyn a moment, over there by the door, to realise that was the coffee table, and by the time that'd registered, it was in pieces, scattered across the floor. Ezio was breathing heavily, panting almost, the tears falling freely, and then he unleashed a strangled, heartbroken scream. He fell to the floor, curled up, and cried. Drake crossed over to him, kneeling down beside him and gathering him up into his arms. Ezio didn't fight him, falling into his arms with a slight hiccup.

Morgyn frowned, and then shuffled around the couch. He'd utterly destroyed the coffee table. Of course, any of them could fix it with a wave and a mumble, but that wasn't really the point. Morgyn wanted to ask. Maybe talking about it would make them stop, or ease up a little, at least. Clearly there was some unresolved…

But then, that slight shift in the air, just before Ezio had started screaming. No.

"Did you sense that?" Morgyn asked quietly, turning to Caleb.

Caleb nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Something changed, the air got thicker somehow, and then Ezio started screaming."

Morgyn frowned again. Once again, confirmation that the blond's paranoia wasn't just paranoia. The question was, what all could cause that? Certainly a vampire, but there shouldn't be a vampire that wanted to cause that kind of trouble for Ezio of all people. Most of the vampires he'd met liked him, and none of them really _hated_ him. Barring Miss Hell, but she hated everyone and wasn't capable of that kind of control over long distances, if it was her they'd know by now.

No, someone else. Maybe someone working under Aine, if Morgyn had to guess, because Aine always did hate Ezio. Morgyn never figured out why that was, but the reasons why didn't really matter, either.

No. No. There was a better explanation for that, maybe it was just a powerful vampire Morgyn didn't know that wanted something. Fuck. Aine wasn't everything wrong with their lives, and Morgyn didn't want to fall into the rut of thinking otherwise. There was a perfectly good explanation for this and it wasn't Aine. Morgyn just wanted something easy to blame, _anyone_ , if it meant in doing so Ezio would stop screaming and crying like that, that was all.

Morgyn released a sigh, arms crossing again. "I think those nightmares aren't just nightmares," Morgyn said.

Caleb looked over at the blond, and released a breath. "I think I'd have to agree."


	18. Realms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in a different editor. No typos this time because I had a spellcheck the entire way and now I don’t have a headache, either, go me.
> 
> I hate Aine. I’m going to kill her in the most horrible way I can think of, I swear.
> 
> Also, I always wonder a little how Ezio ends up falling so hard and fast for Cassandra, and then they interact, and I understand.
> 
> Realms; Hinkik, A Himitsu  
> This is also chapter 39 altogether. Fun trivia.

Every so often, the whispering got a little louder. Ezio mostly tried to ignore it, because focusing on it wouldn't get him anywhere, to be sure. All _thinking_ about it was doing was making him paranoid.

He stood in the kitchen, watching the teapot do its thing, listening to the sound of the birds chirping, the voices from downstairs, car horns honking in the distance.

Ezio hadn't been very fond of the city, when he'd first come here, but it had grown on him over time. Now, he imagined living anywhere else would prove to be too quiet for him.

It'd probably also be too easy to _breathe_ in. It wasn't _difficult_ in the city, not by any means. The air was just different here, and he imagined it wouldn't be much like that anywhere else.  


As strange a thought as it was, he wouldn't feel very comfortable in his hometown of Mortain. He and Morgyn had never gone back. Some part of him regretted that, because the region was beautiful, and Ezio would like to see it again someday.

All the same, there were some things that were better left buried and forgotten. But he'd never been able to forget Mortain, anyway.

The teapot began to gurgle slightly, and then a melodic tone interrupted the vague peace in the apartment. If Ezio listened, he could hear Drake typing in the other room, but it was soft and quiet. The tune sounded like his phone, and it sounded specifically like Cassandra's tune. He picked the phone up, glancing at the screen, and then swiped it and held it up.

"Morning," he said.

"Oh," Cassandra answered. "I... I wasn't expecting you to answer. I've been getting your voicemail anymore."

"Yeah," Ezio said, "sorry about that, I had something going on." He had a feeling telling her he'd been unconscious for several days wouldn't go down very well. "Um, what's up though?"

"Nothing," she said. "Or, nothing important I guess. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Ezio blinked, and he wouldn't admit to it later, but the tips of his ears might've turned a little pink. It took him a moment, but he drew a breath in. "Well, um, where are you?" he asked.

"At home, staring at the ceiling," Cassandra answered. "You know what would be cool?"

"What?" he asked.

"If I painted my ceiling black and then splattered glow in the dark paint on it, to make stars," she said.

"You know what would be cooler?" he asked.

"What?"

"Mixing the glow in the dark paint and sponge painting nebulas and clouds up there," he said. "You could do an entire sky up there that turns into a starscape at night."

Cassandra was quiet for a moment, and then she breathed out. "You are a _genius_ ," she said.

Ezio laughed softly. "Yeah, so I've heard," he said. "I'm not doing anything today. Want to go somewhere?" He hadn't seen her in a while, and besides, he'd been unconscious for a few days. He didn't want her thinking he suddenly didn't like her or something. Life was just complicated, that was all, and the whispering in his head was threatening to further complicate things.

"Absolutely!" she answered, almost immediately. "I mean. Um. Sure. I'm not really busy either. Did you have somewhere in mind?"

Ezio snorted. "Not really," he said. "Do you?"

"I'm not picky," she answered. "Well, there are a couple cafes in Windenburg I've wanted to try out. It's a bit of a drive though, so I understand if you don't want to go that far."

"Oh honey, I don't drive anyway," Ezio said.

"You don't?" Cassandra asked.

Ezio debated for a moment, and then reached over and turned the teapot off. "Look out towards the front of your house," he said.

"Okay?" She sounded confused, but Ezio could hear her shuffling around and the sound of footsteps on wood. Then some metallic clanking and the sound of metal rings sliding against a metal tube. Curtains being pulled back, of course. "It looks the same as it always does," she said.

Ezio pooled his magic, and then disappeared. The phone unleashed the sound of static for a moment, and then it went away, and Ezio looked up toward the upper floors of the Goth manor.

"... whoa," Cassandra said.

"Windenburg won't be a problem," Ezio said.

"Wait, is that how you just _show up_ out of nowhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, sometimes," he said. "I don't even have a car."

Cassandra giggled. "And here I thought we walked everywhere because you were just being romantic."

"I was being romantic if you want me to have been being romantic," Ezio said.

"Okay," Cassandra said. "You were being romantic then. I'll be down in a minute."

The line went silent. Ezio turned his phone off, glanced up at the manor one more time, and then shuffled off to sit on a swing set not far away. And he wondered, how long it would be, before this went terribly wrong, too.

He supposed that wasn't a very good way of thinking about it, but everyone he'd dated before eventually decided he was too much for them. She would, too.

That was why he hadn't told her, yet. She didn't know about his heart condition, even though Ezio knew that he couldn't hide it, not forever. He'd damned well try, if it meant she stayed just a little longer.

He used to wonder what was so wrong with him that no one would stay. He'd stopped wondering after a point.

Ezio wasn't there very long, watching the clouds go by, swinging just slightly, before Cassandra scurried across the street and wandered over to him. She wasn't wearing purple this time, but he still almost forgot how to breathe as he looked up at her.

She smiled at him. He stood up.

"Shall we?" he asked, holding his hand out.

She took his hand, and they walked down the street together that way. Ezio waited until they'd made it around a corner, paused, glancing around, and then pulled Cassandra against him and cast transportalate.

Cassandra let out a surprised squeak sound, and then they were behind the library in Windenburg.

"You might feel a little queasy, for a few minutes," he said, gently tugging her towards the cafe he knew was over here.

"I feel okay," she said.

Ezio snorted. Well, with as much blood from the five families as she had, it might've been more surprising if she didn't.

"You know, I'm surprised you're still talking to me," she said, as they walked.

"Why?" he asked.

Cassie shrugged. "I'm a little weird and stuff," she said. "A lot of people eventually decide it's too much to deal with and I can't really blame them for it."

That sounded eerily familiar. "I'm pretty weird, too," he said. "It'd be stupid to decide you're too much when I am too."

"I don't think you are," she said.

Not yet, she didn't. She'd change her mind. Everyone always did.

They went quiet. Ezio wordlessly opened the door for her, holding it and letting her hand go. She looked surprised, but went in without him, and he followed behind. Cassandra almost immediately reclaimed his hand, as they stood there looking the menu board over.

"Get anything you want," he said.

"If you're sure..." she said.

"I am." Ezio wasn't very good at making other people happy, but he tried with her, at least.

"Does this mean we're dating?" she asked, looking up at him.

That was a weird thing to ask, but then, he supposed it wasn't. What _were_ they, exactly? Ezio smiled a little, and nodded. "Yeah, I think it does," he said. "If you want it to."

"I'd like that," she said.

"I should... probably tell you about Drake then," he said.

"Drake?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ezio was quiet for a moment, thinking about it. "He's... my best friend, first of all. I owe him a lot. We live together, because he decided to follow me to San Myshuno. It's probably for the best, but, anyway. Morgyn thinks he's in love with me, and I'm in love with him, and... Morgyn's probably not wrong."

Cassandra blinked, watching him for a moment, chewing her bottom lip.

"It doesn't really mean anything," he said. "We've had _years_ to tell each other it just never comes up and-"

Cassandra wordlessly reached up and rested a finger on his lips. Ezio went silent.

"I'm not upset," she said. "Kind of sad, for you. I guess that's one of the things about you I may never understand, and I don't have to, that's between you and Drake. Thank you, for being honest with me. I'd like to meet him."

Ezio blinked. "What? You really are strange, you know that?"

Cassandra giggled. "I know," she said. "But I want to meet him. Someone that means that much to you, of course I do. We should at least try to be friends, I should think."

Ezio thought about it, for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay," he said. "After this?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

No one he'd ever dated had any interest in Drake, until her.

* * *

"This is a really tall building," Cassandra said, looking up at the brownstone building Ezio and Drake lived in.

Ezio had to admit, it wasn't very impressive on the outside. Heck, it wasn't very impressive on the _inside_ , either, but he did love it. Someday, he wanted to move to Uptown, because he thought the views would be great up there.

Sometimes, Ezio would go up there and try to paint it. It never came out right, but he had a handful of attempts. Maybe someday he'd just get a camera.

"Not really," Ezio said. "There are taller ones in Uptown, big glass and steel buildings, nice looking if you're into modernity I guess." Ezio had a love-hate relationship with it, really.

She still hadn't let his hand go. It was like she _wanted_ to be close to him, _wanted_ to be in contact with him, and it was a weird feeling at the same time as it was nice, too.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Ezio nodded at one of the doors across the hall. "That's where the Vatores live," he said. "Lilith and Caleb. We've been friends for years, and Caleb is Morgyn's boyfriend finally. Lilith and I are good friends. I haven't seen her in a while, wonder how she's doing..." It'd been awfully quiet over there, really. He decided not to think about it right now.

Instead, he got the front door open, and meandered in. "Drake?" he called. "Have a seat wherever."

"Thanks," Cassandra said, shuffling in and looking around. If she was unimpressed by it, Ezio couldn't tell. As she wandered into the living room, now sans a coffee table, Ezio tapped on the office door and then peeked in.

"Drake?" he called, a little louder.

Drake raised a hand a pulled an earbud out. "Sorry, yeah?"

"Um, Cassandra's by, and she'd like to meet you," he said.

"Your girlfriend Cassandra?" Drake asked, looking surprised.

"She's not-I mean we're not-"

Drake just raised an eyebrow.

"... that Cassandra, yes," Ezio said, and then went into the kitchen. He wasn't going to think about this right now, that was what he wasn't going to do.

Of course, dating implied they were _dating_ , and boyfriend-girlfriend status sort of went hand in hand with that, and they'd _just_ established they were dating... modern relationships were complicated and he hated thinking about them.

"Do you want anything?" he asked, looking at Cassandra. She'd settled down on the couch. "We've got milk, lemonade, and orange juice."

"Lemonade sounds nice, if it's not too much trouble," she said.

"I like mine really bitter," Ezio said, "so you may have to add some sugar to it."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," she said.

Well, if she liked her lemonade as bitter as he did, that solved a few problems, didn't it? As he shuffled around in the kitchen making up some glasses of lemonade, Drake shuffled out of the office, closing the door gently, and then headed over to the couch.

"Nice to meet you," he said, holding his hand out. "I'm Drake."

"Cassandra," she answered, smiling. "Wow, your eyes are really striking."

"He's a vampire," Ezio said.

Cassandra blinked, glancing at him, and then looked back at Drake. "A vampire? Like a blood-drinking vampire?"

"Uhh..." Drake looked a bit out of his element.

"Oh come on, she'll have to figure it out eventually," Ezio said, wandering over and handing her a glass of lemonade. "Drake doesn't like drinking from people."

"What else is there to drink from?" Cassandra asked, taking the glass.

"There's a weird tree that makes fruit that works a lot like plasma, don't ask me why, I don't know," Ezio explained, sitting down. "Usually that."

"Oh," Cassandra said. "So vampires are real, and blood trees are a thing. Do you have fangs?" She peered up at him.

Drake looked amused, and then smiled for her, revealing his fangs.

"Oh."

"Not all vampires do, though," he said, sitting down on Ezio's other side.

"The Vatores are vampires, too," Ezio mentioned. "You'll probably meet them eventually."

Just as he said that, the door opened, and Morgyn meandered in. "Hey, how's-uh hi," Morgyn said. Just behind the blond, Caleb wandered in with a pot of whatever was on today's menu.

"Oh, visitors, hey," Caleb said, shuffling into the kitchen.

"You must be Morgyn," Cassandra said, looking at the blond. "Nice to meet you finally."

"Uh, nice to meet you too, sorry, who are you?" Morgyn asked.

"This is Cassandra," Ezio said. "My um..." he glanced at her, not sure what to call her.

"His girlfriend," she said.

Oh, okay, that worked. Drake looked at him weirdly triumphantly and Ezio just gave him a look.

"I'm sorry his what? Never mind, right, could you... could you excuse us," Morgyn said, reaching around her and grabbing Ezio's hand, pulling him up.

"Wait, hey," Ezio protested, setting his glass of lemonade on the floor and following the blond to the bedroom. Morgyn closed the door behind them.

"What _girlfriend_ , what?" Morgyn asked. "I didn't even know you were in a position to be _getting_ a girlfriend, you haven't dated since the eighties, what is this!"

Ezio looked amused. "Wow," he said. "Calm down a little. You missed a few things, that's all."

"I mean _clearly_ ," Morgyn said. "What about... is... I mean is Drake...?"

Ezio shook his head. "We haven't really talked about it," he said.

"You should," Morgyn argued. "I mean Drake really loves you."

"He did back then, too, and it worked out," Ezio said.

"I guess," Morgyn replied. "You seem to be able to think better today."

"Yeah," Ezio said, and then smiled slightly. "She makes it easier to think." Then, Ezio turned around, opened the door, and went back out. Caleb had settled down at the dining room table, and Drake was saying they had a cat once.

"Mayor Whiskers," Ezio said, settling back down. "He hasn't been back in a while."

"Is he lost?" Cassandra asked.

"Nah," Ezio said. "He's in Granite Falls." Now what, exactly, was in Granite Falls, Ezio had no idea, but he'd sent the cat after Keisha. Maybe Keisha was in Granite Falls.

* * *

Cassandra and Drake got along better than Ezio had dared to hope, but here they were, laughing at each other's jokes and genuinely enjoying each others' company. Ezio found that he enjoyed that particular outcome, and couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh, he used to blow up potions all the time," Drake said.

Yes, Ezio was enjoying the conversation, even if they _were_ talking about his varying magical mishaps.

"What happens when you do that?" Cassandra asked.

"Usually," Ezio said, "you crash into something. I hit the wall a lot. Oh, one time, I had one blow up in my face and then it threw me off the second-floor balcony."

"Did you break anything?" Cassandra asked.

"Yup," Ezio said. "Shattered my wrist and my forearm. I don't recommend doing that, it hurts a good deal."

Cassandra looked thoughtful, and then asked, "You fixed it though, right? With magic?"

Ezio glanced at Drake. Drake shook his head.

"Magic doesn't heal," he said. "Well, it probably does, it's just that no one's figured out how to make it do it."

"That's odd, you'd think that'd be one of the first things magic users would figure out," Cassandra said.

"I learnt a few years ago," Ezio said, "how to heal minor cuts and abrasions, but, nothing really substantial." And he _had_ been trying. Morgyn had, too.

"I want to learn how to do that," Cassandra said. "Whenever my magic comes. I don't think magic really has a purpose, if it can't heal and save lives."

Ezio smiled slightly. That was a strange mindset to have, but then, he could see why she'd have it all the same.

"Well, first I guess I need to worry about moving out," Cassandra said, laughing slightly.

"You're moving?" Ezio asked.

"Not yet," she said. "I want to, but my parents aren't thrilled with me moving out on my own. Not sure why. I mean, at least I _sleep_ at night, instead of trying to live on naps like Alexander does. My little brother. He's allergic to sleeping."

Ezio snorted. "I don't think you can be allergic to that."

"Well, if you can, he is," Cassandra decided.

Ezio glanced at Drake.

Drake glanced at Ezio. And then drew in a breath. "You know, if you want to move here, I don't think that'd be a problem."

"What?" Cassandra asked. "I mean I'd like to it's just, are you sure you have the room?"

Ezio shrugged. "It'd be some renovating, I think, but we can make it work," he said. "Drake doesn't really need a whole room to himself."

"I could move out," Drake said.

"What, no," Ezio said.

"Definitely not," Cassandra agreed. "I have a couple hundred thousand saved up, if that'd help. Maybe we could move somewhere bigger."

"Uh, maybe," with that much, yeah. "Did you have somewhere in mind?" he asked, and then raised his lemonade glass to his lips.

"I was thinking Spire," Cassandra said.

And Ezio spat lemonade towards the television.

Drake laughed.

"Did I say something?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" Ezio said, and then waved a hand and cast _Scruberoo_. "Just fine, I'm fine. Wow. I was not expecting _that_ , though. I don't think I make enough for that."

"It's only seven thousand a week," she said.

Only!

"I make that much," Drake said. "With royalties."

"If you're really concerned, we'd probably have enough space for Morgyn to move in, too. And the Vatores, if you want," Cassandra said. "And that'd be a bit more income padding if something goes wrong. The gallery is starting to buy my paintings from me. And Drake has royalties, I think it'd be fine."

Ezio still looked a bit unconvinced, glancing between the two. "I guess we can talk about it," he decided.

"You'll love Uptown," she said. "It's got the most gorgeous views of the bay at night, and the city lights, you can see _everything_ in San Myshuno. And, it's not far from the Myshuno Meadows park, it's beautiful at night, a lot of celebrities have gotten married there."

"I've heard some great things about the skyline in Uptown," Drake said. "I've wanted to go up there for a while, but never had the nerve."

"You'd love it I think," Cassandra said. "Most people that go up there do, really. There's a gym up there too, and food stalls, so it's not too far from amenities."

"Might be pretty nice," Drake said. "Lilith would _love_ living close to a gym, I think. She's an exercise nut. Not really a health nut, just an exercise nut."

"One of those people that can't hold still?" Cassandra asked.

Drake nodded. "Just the type," he said. "Funny enough, she's in Britechester for writing. Ezio's in Britechester too, he wants to be a lawyer. I think this is his last semester though, isn't it Ezio?"

Cassandra looked over at him. Drake did, too. Ezio had slid down in his seat, and fallen asleep on Cassandra's shoulder.

"Oh, well," Cassandra said. "That works."

"He's _asleep_ ," Drake said, quiet.

"Yes?"

"No, you don't understand," Drake said. "Ezio hasn't been able to sleep and _stay_ that way for weeks now. He's been having a long, persistent streak of nightmares, but he doesn't seem bothered at all right now."

Cassandra looked concerned, reaching up and petting Ezio's hair. "Do you think he'll wake up?"

"I don't know," Drake said. "We'll leave him there. Whatever you did, he's definitely asleep now. If he doesn't wake up screaming, you're a miracle worker."

* * *

The birds weren't even chirping, and his hip kind of hurt, but Ezio stretched out on the couch. Something was in his hand, he noticed, and he opened one eye, then the other, and glanced at it.

A necklace he remembered Cassandra wearing a few times was in his hand, and glancing down at himself, he realised he hadn't changed clothes the night before. That was odd. Then, he didn't remember Cassandra ever leaving.

He sat up, probably looking a bit confused, and glanced at the kitchen. Drake was in there making tea.

"What happened?" Ezio asked.

Drake looked over his shoulder at him. "You fell asleep on Cassandra," Drake said. "She stayed as long as she could, but she had to go home. She did leave that." Drake gestured at the necklace in Ezio's hand. "If she tried to let you go, you started getting fussy. Leaving that with you was the only way you didn't."

Ezio glanced down at the necklace in his hand, and looked even more confused.

"I don't know what she did," Drake went on, "but she made your nightmares go away. Even just for this one night."

It felt like magic. The necklace in his hand felt like magic, but Cassandra shouldn't be able to _do_ magic. Hers was still bound, and if he was any good at recognising someone else's magic, he thought it was bound by Bella. Then again, Cassandra's blood itself was magic, there was so much of it in it. It was entirely possible she'd done it on accident, as a side-effect of existing.

"She's a Goth," Ezio said. "Cassandra Goth. Mortimer and Bella's eldest."

Drake turned around again, to stare at him. "A Goth," he repeated.

"Don't tell _anyone_ ," Ezio said. "Not even Morgyn."

"Morgyn will find out eventually," Drake said.

"Yes," Ezio answered, sitting up the rest of the way. "But it won't be from me."

Drake released a breath. "Well, that does explain how she can fight your nightmares off. We don't think your nightmares are really nightmares."

Ezio snorted. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I still think there's a malicious ghost hanging around that doesn't like you," Drake said, shrugging.

No, it was a bit bigger than that, Ezio thought. Ghost activity was higher than normal, he'd figured that much out, but he didn't know why, and it didn't seem all that related. He wouldn't know, he guessed.

"How long was I out?" Ezio asked.

"It's one in the morning," Drake answered.

Ezio cursed. "I'm going to regret that later." He did have to admit, being awake at one in the morning for a different reason for once, _was_ kind of nice. Idly, Ezio slipped Cassandra's necklace over his head. It felt safe to him, and he liked the feeling.

Then, Ezio stood up, and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Drake asked.

"Over to the Vatores'," Ezio said. "To talk about moving in together."

Drake sighed, and followed him out the door.

Ezio tapped lightly on the apartment door across the hall. It took a moment, but the door opened and Caleb looked confused, and then concerned.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"Just fine," Ezio said. "Do you got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, and then moved out of the way.

Morgyn looked up from the couch. "It's one in the morning," Morgyn said.

"I just woke up, actually," Ezio said, settling down in a chair. "Cassandra left a bit ago, and uh, she brought up something interesting I thought we should talk about."

"What's that?" Caleb asked.

"She wants to move us to Spire," Ezio said.

"Wait, Spire?" Morgyn asked. "Like, Uptown Spire?"

Ezio nodded. "That's the one."

"Wow, that's quite an upgrade," Morgyn said. "Congratulations."

"No," Ezio said. " _All_ of us. Drake and I, and you and the Vatores. All of us."

Morgyn blinked.

"Wait, why us?" Caleb asked.

Lilith snorted from the corner. "Morgyn, you dipstick," she said.

Morgyn giggled.

Caleb turned an interesting shade of pink. "Wow, never figured we'd move up there."

"Given long enough, we could've afforded it," Morgyn said.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hard to imagine," Caleb said.

Ezio stood up, shuffling over to Lilith and sitting beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"No," Lilith answered. "But I'm getting there."

Ezio drew a breath in, and then reached over and took her hand in his. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

A loud shriek tore through the silence, and the raven-haired woman grabbed the table by its side and flipped it. She then released a loud huff of annoyance, and fell heavily into a chair.

The other woman, seated across the room and filing her nails, loosed a snort. "Having problems over there?" she asked.

Aine glared at Miss Hell through her lashes, and released a loud breath. "He's always been a thorn in my side," she said. "Trust him to figure out how to block me out. Well, even _that_ takes effort and sooner or later he will wear down, his defences will crumble and I will have my day."

Ezio thought he was _so smart_ , breaking her connection like that. It was mere static, minor interference, and it wouldn't stop her for long.

How exactly he always seemed to be one step ahead of her, that Aine had no idea about, and presently, no theories. It was always like this, even back when she was still the sage of untamed magic, he seemed to know what she was doing before she did.

The prophecy was always at the back of her mind. Keisha had told it, and then forgotten it immediately after, as Keisha was prone to doing, and Aine hadn't thought about it too much, at first. But over time, the paranoia had grown. Some part of Aine thought that Keisha had planted the seeds on purpose, and it would serve her better to ignore the woman's words.

But Keisha had been right about every other thing she'd told a prophecy about. It stood to reason that she'd be right about this, too.

Morgyn may _think_ herself a boy, but she simply wasn't. If the prophecy was about anyone, it would likely be Ezio. Ezio always _was_ the more threatening of the two, at least, to Aine.

But Ezio was proving very difficult to kill. Too difficult.

Aine almost wondered if he was the All's tool now. To punish her for escaping the fate that had befallen every other untamed sage before her. Morgyn would get the brunt of it, no doubt. Aine had escaped it, and the consequences of that choice would fall to Morgyn.

Funny enough, Aine didn't care much.

Then again, maybe instead of trying to _destroy_ Ezio, Aine should be attempting to use him. He could be a very useful pawn, if she figured out how to do it. Of course, there was that particularly strong desire to protect Morgyn; Aine _could_ theoretically use it to her advantage...

"If you say so," Miss Hell murmured. "I need help with the Vatore."

Aine glanced over at her. "So kill her," Aine said, reaching over and pulling things off the shelf and throwing them into the cauldron. "Isn't that what you want to do, anyway?"

Miss Hell sighed. "Yes," she said. "But I don't think I can. She's gotten stronger since the last time I fought her."

Of course. And now Miss Hell wanted a shortcut, as everyone always did. "What do you want me to do about it?" she asked.

Miss Hell shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I figured you might have a magic something or another that could help."

Not _really_. But Aine supposed she could help. She glanced down at the cauldron. The overload potion had given the Embers quite a bit of trouble. If she tweaked it a little bit, she could theoretically overload a vampire with their own psychic abilities, it wouldn't even take much tweaking, she didn't think.

"Fine," she said. "I can help. It won't last forever, most likely, and Lilith could eventually learn to overcome it."

Miss Hell smiled. "That's fine," she said. "I just need her disabled long enough for me to end her."

Aine wondered if Miss Hell realised that once they got control of the power nexus under Straud manor, she was utterly useless to her, and, perhaps, would even be in her way...? No matter.

Aine was getting good at pretending to be friends with someone long enough to get what she wanted.


	19. You Make Me Wanna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … this was not in the plans. It happened on its own. I am sorry? I am not sorry? I don’t know what I am. Writing smut wasn’t in my plans for today, but here we are. This is the world we live in.
> 
> So yeah. That’s how my day’s going.
> 
> In other news, more set up! Yeah! Also sorry I haven’t been posting any more edits, I… like ran out of them? Lol I think? I may not have and just be missing some in the back of my Tumblr somewhere but like oh well. I have more that I’ve done recently but they’re mostly kind of spoilery.
> 
> Come Thru; Summer Walker, Usher

Everything was going a little better. Ezio still occasionally had to endure a nasty migraine for a few days, the whispering was still there off and on, but he could think, and, thanks to the necklace Cassandra had left him, he could sleep, too. The effects would wear off sooner or later, he should think, when what magic she'd incidentally imparted to it faded, but he'd worry about it then. Maybe he'd trade her necklaces, give her this one and one of his own in exchange for one of hers.

It was all only until they had all moved into Spire, and the more the subject came up, the more excited everyone became at the prospect of moving out of the Spice Market. Ezio would probably go back from time to time, just to visit, and it'd seem that Morgyn had made friends at the _Casa di Colori_ , but moving on to other things had its own draw.

Cassandra had brought up the initial payment on the apartment, and pooling together their money, they'd come up with the first rent payment, as well. Spire was theirs, for all intents and purposes. All that was left was the finalisations and making the move.

What Ezio didn't know is whether or not he could remain on financial assistance for his heart condition and prescriptions while they were living in a nearly 200,000 dollar apartment. They could afford the _apartment_ , but barely, and mostly only because Cassandra had a sizable savings. There wasn't anything in her savings allowance for 'boyfriend with an expensive heart condition.' He still hadn't even _told_ her, and now he was even more afraid to.

He didn't really want to go without Mayor, either, but the cat was still wandering around Granite Falls, judging by the flickers and flashes Ezio occasionally got from him. At least Mayor Whiskers was still okay. But he wasn't headed home yet, and Ezio was starting to worry a little.

"I got the paperwork sent in yesterday," Cassandra said. She'd come by with the papers on the apartment and all the legal junk. "It should be approved in another week or two, and then we can start moving in."

"Have you met the landlord?" Ezio asked. It was more out of curiosity.

"Yeah... about that," Cassandra said, tapping the papers for a moment. "Um, my mother bought it a few years ago."

Ezio blinked, and then looked over at her. "Your mother is our landlord?"

"Yes," Cassandra said. "I'm sorry, I know that might be a little bit awkward."

No, now that Ezio was thinking about it, that made sense. Bella probably wanted to keep tabs on Cassandra anyway and make sure she wasn't getting into anything terribly dangerous. That was most likely the aversion to her moving out on her own to begin with. It made sense.

It still make his eye twitch.

"It's fine," he said, stirring his tea, and leaning against the counter. "I suppose since we're dating, I'll have to meet them eventually, right?"

Cassandra blinked, looking like this hadn't crossed her mind at any point. "I... well I suppose so," she said. "I hadn't thought about it."

"It's fine," Ezio said again. "I guess it wouldn't really be important."

"No it is," Cassandra said. "I'm just so used to people already knowing my parents, it got lost somewhere in there. I'm sorry. I can talk to them and see if they'll have time this weekend, or maybe the week after, if you're not up for it anytime soon."

Ezio went quiet, and shrugged. The whispering got louder, but he was trying to ignore it. He didn't know what it was, but it was wrong.

 _Does she love you, though?_ a voice asked.

And why did it matter if she did?

"We'll see," he said.  
Cassandra frowned a little, but she let it go. She reached over, taking a drink of her lemonade. Ezio stirred his tea in silence.

"So, I was wondering if the um, the binding on my magic will come undone on its own someday?" Cassandra said.

Ezio snorted. "If whoever cast it dies, yeah, I said that."

"I mean, before that?"

Ezio shook his head. "Unlikely," he said. "Unless whoever cast it purposely put a time limit on it, sometimes they'll do that, but I don't think they would've."

"What makes you say that?" Cassandra asked.

Ezio took a breath in. "I just do," he said. "You wouldn't want it undoing itself at a bad time."

"There can be a bad time for it to undo itself?" Cassandra asked.

Ezio released a breath and slammed his teacup onto the counter. "Drop it!" he snapped. "It'll come undone when it comes undone!"

Cassandra looked surprised, and a little hurt in those dark eyes, but she didn't say anything else.

Damn it. Ezio closed his eyes, took a breath in, and released it. "Sorry, just, the magic world isn't all rainbows and roses, that's all."

Cassandra was quiet for a moment, and then tilted her head. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Fine," he said. "I just have a headache, again."

"You're still getting sleep, right?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Just less of it than I'd like I guess." He wouldn't consider it an emergency or anything, not yet. He'd survive.

"If you want me to swap necklaces with you-" Cassandra started.

"No," Ezio interrupted. "It's fine, I'll-" And then something changed, in his head, and he didn't know what that was. The sense of _other_ in his head got stronger, and he raised a hand to his head.

"Ezio?" Cassandra asked, standing up.

"Fine, m'f-" His heart suddenly squeezed in his chest, _painfully_ , and Ezio unleashed a pained shriek, and he hit the counter and then the floor.

The only thing he could think was, Drake wasn't here, and Cassandra had no idea what to do.

Cassandra unleashed a squeal of her own, immediately scrambling over to him on the floor, pulling him into her lap.

"Ezio," she called, shaking him and patting his cheek. "Ezio come on, what happened? I don't know what to do, Ezio-"

"Cassandra," a voice called. Cassandra startled, looking around the room. It sounded very distorted, like she was hearing it through water, or something, but she could hear it. "Cassandra," the voice called again, louder. It sounded feminine.

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Can you see me?" the woman asked.

Cassandra looked around, trying to figure out who or what was talking to her.

"No, in front of you," the woman said. "I'm right beside Ezio."

Cassandra turned to look in front of her. Just so, she could almost make out a shadow, just there. The longer she stared at it, the more it looked like the vague shape of a woman.

"Kind of," Cassandra said. "I can kind of see you."

"Your magic is very strong to make it through the binding," the woman said. "I need you to let him go, you need to go in the other room."

"What?" Cassandra asked.

"We don't have _time_ ," the woman said. " _He_ doesn't have time, Cassandra, his heart is fluttering too quickly, if you don't get his medication into him and fast he's going to go into cardiac arrest."

"Cardiac _arrest_?" Cassandra repeated.

"Focus," the woman said. Cassandra could see her eyes, dark pools of brown, framed in dusky skin, and strange coloured hair. It looked like there were stars in the strands, sparkling in the light through the haze. "Go into the bedroom, in the right side table, there's a black mesh makeup bag full of medication. There's only one bottle that says it is to be injected. The syringe should be in there too. Fill it to the .5 line and inject it into his butt."

Cassandra squinted. "Is that really necessary?" she asked.

"No," the woman answered. "I'm just a jerk, and his butt's a decent sized target anyway, but his arm is fine too. Now go, go, quickly, I'll try to keep it calm as long as I can."

Cassandra gently set Ezio back onto the floor, and then stood up and rushed into the bedroom, pulling the side drawer open. The makeup bag wasn't hard to find, and Cassandra just unceremoniously dumped the bottles onto the bed. She immediately found the syringe, at least, and then went to reading over the labels, finding the one that was an injection. It wasn't the only one that was a liquid, but there weren't many of them.

Then, once she found it, she shoved the other bottles back into the bag, took the syringe and bottle out to the kitchen where Ezio was and fell beside him. As she took the cap off, she could see the bottle top was different, intended for a syringe needle.

".5 line," the woman reminded her. She was getting a little less hazy as time went on.

Cassandra nodded, filled the syringe, and then squeezed her eyes closed and shoved it into Ezio's arm.

"There, see, not so bad," the woman said.

"What happened?" Cassandra asked.

"It'll take a minute for it to work, here," the woman said, her hand gently hovering over Ezio's hair like she was petting it.

"What _happened_?" Cassandra asked again.

"That's for him to tell you, dear," the woman answered. "Ah, there we go, it's levelling out now. He'll be okay. You did very well."

"Who are you?" Cassandra asked instead.

The woman smiled. "That's for him to tell you, too," she said, and when Cassandra blinked, she was gone.

* * *

Consciousness came to him seemingly filtered through molasses. He heard the sounds of the cars, the traffic on the bridge, smelled the slightly smoggy air, and then, smelled Cassandra's perfume. For a moment, it didn't register what that meant, but then he remembered she was here, and his eyes snapped open.

"Hi there," she said, looking down at him.

Ezio looked up at her. "Hi," he said softly. "What happened?"

Cassandra snorted. "I was kind of hoping you could tell me. We were talking, and then you shrieked and passed out. Should I get used to this?"

Ezio looked away, his head turning to the side.

"I'm not judging you," Cassandra said. "I just want to understand."

"How did you know what to do?" he asked. "I felt it, before I went down, there's a specific medication you would've had to give me to fix that short of taking me to a hospital." And it was still just them.

"A hazy, dark-skinned lady with stars in her hair told me," Cassandra answered.

Ezio looked back up at her. Makana. Cassandra could see Makana. But of course she could. Bachelors were often mediums and seers; in Cassandra, those traits would be stronger, she'd be a stronger medium than her mother.

Cassandra would be a necromancer, just like he was, and Ezio had even more reason to protect her from her own fucking magic. It was almost too much for _him_ , he didn't want her going through it, too.

"I see," he said quietly. He sat up, slowly, making sure he wasn't going to get dizzy. He could feel where she'd stabbed him with a needle. That wasn't terribly gentle, apparently, but she'd gotten it in him, so whatever.

He couldn't run from it forever, and he'd known it all along.

Ezio took a breath in, staring at his hands in his lap. "I have a heart condition," he said quietly. "I wasn't born with it, I developed it over time. I've lived with it a long time, but for longer than is ideal, I wasn't on medication for it. Didn't even have a doctor or anything, we just made do with what Drake and Morgyn could do with magic. Some days are easier than others. But someday, it's going to kill me. I've already lived ten years longer than I should've. I don't know how long I have left."

By the time he'd stopped talking, his hands were shaking.

Cassandra took a breath in, glancing down at his hands, and then she scooted across the floor to kneel in front of him, gently taking his face in her hands and nudging it up to look at her. Her eyes searched his for a moment. And then she smiled. "I'm not leaving, Ezio," she said. "I'm not leaving you over this, I would _never_ leave you over this. I want to stay even more than I did before now."

Ezio looked sad. "You say that now," he said. "It's like this all the time. It just gets harder."

Cassandra went quiet. Then, she asked, "What would've happened, if you were alone, if the lady didn't tell me what to do?"

Ezio looked up at her. "If I was lucky?" he asked. "Spent a week in the hospital. If I was very unlucky? I'd have died."

Cassandra was quiet again, seemingly digesting that response. And then, to his utter befuddlement, she started to cry. And Ezio had no idea what to do about it, except reach out to dry her tears and tell her it'll be okay, because it was always him telling everyone that it'd be okay.

She smacked his hands out of the way, reached out, pulled him against her, and clung to him. "I'm sorry," she said.

"What?" Okay, _now_ he was confused.

"I never want you to be alone when that happens again," Cassandra said. "I'm sorry if you ever have been. I'm not going anywhere. I want someone to always be here when you need them, so I will be, between me and Drake, you'll never be alone again, and the chances of losing you because there wasn't anyone else here will be zero. I'm not accepting that as a matter of course. I'm staying."

That was not the response he was expecting whatsoever. Ezio had no idea what to say to that. Drake had almost said the same thing, except, not exactly.

"Cassandra I-" he paused a moment, thinking. "I don't-I don't want anything to change, don't _change_ because of this, it's not worth-"

"You're worth it," Cassandra said. " _You_ are worth it, Ezio, I want to. I wanted to stay with you anyway, and now I just have more reason."

"No, Cassie, think about it," Ezio said. "This isn't-it just-it's all downhill from here, this was one of the easy times, okay, it only gets worse."

"And that's okay," Cassandra answered. "Ezio, I don't have some silly idea in my head that I can fix everything just by being around, but if I can make a difference, even a small one, and make any of this easier on you, I want that. I _care_. I care about you. I care about _this_. I'm not changing, I'd do this for anyone I care about, you just happen to be more immediately pressing."

Ezio closed his eyes, breathing out. Arguing with her was very difficult sometimes, and he was remembering how difficult it could be, about now. And some part of him didn't _want_ to argue. Some part of him _wanted_ her to stay.

"It's okay," Cassandra whispered against his hair. "I'm not them, Ezio. I'm not the ones that left you before. I won't say I never will. But it will _never_ be because of this. This isn't too much for me. _You're_ not too much for me."

Ezio snorted softly. "You're awfully stubborn," he said quietly.

"I have to be," Cassandra said. "Or I'd have never gotten anywhere with you. I won't hurt you like that, Ezio. Please, don't push me away. I don't want to give up on you. On us."

Ezio didn't say anything, raising his head slightly to rest against hers. In hindsight, neither of them would later be able to say for sure which one of them moved first, but whichever one of them it was, their lips met, and neither wanted to let go.

He stood up, and her body moved to wrap around his, so she didn't fall. Lightning shot down his fingers at the feeling of her pressed against him, and he didn't have to ask her to open the bedroom door when her back gently bumped against it. He kicked it closed behind them, leaning against it for a moment. Her hand rested against his jaw, and she took the hint when his lips parted just slightly. Hers did too, and then all he tasted was her.

She didn't let go, as his shin bumped into the mattress, and he knelt down on it. Finally, her legs dropped off from around his waist, as they lowered onto the sheets, and his kisses trailed across her jaw, down her neck, his body pulsing with want so strong it was almost startling.

Wait-what the _fuck_ was he doing losing his sense like that-

"Wait," he said, breathless, sitting up over her. Her eyes met his, glossy with desire, and unbelievably beautiful. "Shouldn't rush into this. We don't have to."

Cassandra breathed heavily, for a moment, watching him in slight confusion, and then she pushed up off the bed. She was a bit off, but her lips met his again, gently. "I want you," she said. "I have for a while, I just, didn't know how to ask for you."

It was _awfully_ difficult to hear that and not respond to it, Ezio found, his eyes squeezing closed at the sudden jolt of desire.

"Is it going to hurt you?" she asked, reaching up and resting a hand against his cheek.

"No," Ezio said, taking her hand and kissing the palm. No one had ever asked that before, either. She was full of firsts. "You've never done this before, have you?"

Cassandra shook her head. He wasn't surprised.

"Are you sure you want me?" he asked.

She thought about it, for a moment, their fingers interlacing, and then she nodded.

"Okay," he whispered, catching her lips with his again. He'd have to trust her, because he couldn't tell her what she did and didn't want. "I'll go slow. If you want me to stop, if it hurts, just tell me."

Cassandra looked a bit surprised, but she nodded, hesitantly moving up towards him, and then backing away.

Ezio smiled, leaning down, their lips meeting again. She parted her lips first, and when he did, too, her tongue darted into his mouth in hesitant curiosity, her body moving around his as they pressed together.

There was so much want in him, but he didn't want to hurt her. She was so much smaller than he was, delicate and fragile, and unbelievably precious to him, he was so afraid of hurting her he was almost afraid to do anything at all. All the same, she never shied away from him, moving with him, trying to half copy what he did. In all likelihood, she wasn't as small as she seemed like; he was just bigger than he remembered being, and it was more that she seemed smaller under him.

His hands slid under fabric, gently moving it out of his way, seeking her skin underneath. It was gentle and steady, in no particular hurry. She shuddered under his touch slightly, a soft breath releasing.

Cassandra had always been beautiful to him, but before, it was distantly, more an aesthetic appreciation than what it felt like now, more insistent. Like he'd fallen in love with what was in her heart, and that made her body attractive to him.

He didn't know when it'd changed. It sounded stupid in his head.

Gently, he slid her shirt over her head, and she did the same with his. Her fingers gently slid down his chest, vaguely following the scars that were still faintly visible on his skin. The question was in her eyes, as they met his, but she didn't ask. He reached over and gently pulled her glasses off, folding them and setting them on the side table, then his own.

He pulled her up with him, into his lap. It'd hurt less this way, and she could stop him easier if she needed to. On her own, she pushed against him, her hips almost flush against his, her hands raising, fingers resting against his jaw, her hips shifting against him.

He loosed a grunt, and she looked surprised. And the next time her hips shifted against him, it was more deliberate; she must've figured it out, because realisation flickered across her face. It was awfully cute and Ezio huffed softly. Her cheeks flushed pink, and he leaned over, burying kisses against her neck, one hand sliding up her back and unhooking her bra.

A soft surprised noise escaped her throat, and then she stared at him as his teeth caught her bra strap and pulled. It slid off her wrists, and she was still staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged.

"I spend too much time around vampires," he said softly, kissing down her arm. "I can try not to do that again."

"It was _hot_ ," she whispered, raising his head to kiss him. "Absolutely do that again."

Ezio smirked, kissing her lips, her jaw, her fingers, and then down her side. He had to let her go to make it, but he caught the edge of her skirt with his teeth and pulled that too, and she released a loud breath, watching him slide her skirt down her legs in his teeth. Then, he went back, catching the edge of her underwear in his teeth, and pulling those down, too.

Judging by that whimper, she definitely did like that.

He pulled only a little way, his hands getting them the rest of it, as he trailed kisses across her hip, over her abdomen. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair, and then pulled his arm, her breath coming in frantic pants. He moved up, and the moment she could reach, she pulled his belt apart, tugging his jeans out of the way.

"Ezio, please," she whispered.

"Shhh... I don't want to hurt you," he said.

He said he'd go slow, and he meant it.

* * *

It was debatable, if it was fortunate that he didn't have anything to break this time around, when he woke up screaming yet again. It didn't even matter what the dream was about this time; Cassandra's magic had worn off, and once again, Ezio was faced with his demons.

He expected Drake, but the blur of blond in front of him was different. Even through the blur of tears and the frantic haze of panic, he could recognise Morgyn.

"Ezio, it's okay," the blond said.

No, it wasn't. No, it _wasn't_ , but he knew that Morgyn meant well by it. It wasn't a lie, not as Morgyn understood it. Ezio drew in a breath, looking up at the ceiling.

Morgyn reached out and took his hands. Ezio jerked away.

"Ezio, please, it's just me," Morgyn murmured, and then sat down. Drake always seemed to wait for Ezio to come to him, maybe that was what Morgyn was doing wrong.

Ezio shook his head frantically. No it wasn't. Why was Morgyn here, anyway? Everything was Morgyn's fault, _everything_ , without intending to, Morgyn had taken _everything_ away from him. He'd take Cassandra, too. What? No. Ezio raised his hands, pressing them against his temples. _Go away_ , he thought. _Leave me alone._

 _I will never leave you_ , something answered.

"Ezio, talk to me," Morgyn said. "What do you need?"

 _You know it's true,_ the voice went on. _Everything wrong with your life is Morgyn's fault. It's always all about Morgyn, Morgyn, Morgyn, isn't it? Hardly anyone remembers Morgyn wouldn't be half as great as she is without you._

Ezio squeezed his eyes closed, rocking back and forth, trying to ignore it, to block the voice in his head out, because it was wrong.

"Ezio?" Morgyn murmured.

 _You could've lived a better life if it weren't for Morgyn_ , the voice said. _If Morgyn had never existed, if Morgyn didn't exist now, imagine how much better your life would be. It'd stop the pain, Ezio. If Morgyn was gone, the pain would go with her._

That wasn't true. If Morgyn was gone Ezio had no reason to live anymore.

 _And why should you live for someone that's done everything in her power to ruin your life, anyway?_ the voice asked.

"Shut up!" Ezio snapped, and before he knew what he was doing, his arm flung out instinctively, a loud _slap_ sounding.

Morgyn hit the floor.

Ezio sucked in a breath, vision suddenly blurring even worse than it already was. "I'm sorry!" he spluttered, scooting over to Morgyn. He was afraid to touch the blond, but he was worried all the same, Ezio didn't exactly hit _lightly_. "Morgyn, I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn't-why did I do that-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"

Morgyn sat up, jaw flexing, and then looked at Ezio. "I wonder..." the blond said, and then reached out with both hands, fingers alighting with magic.

Ezio hissed in pain, as he suddenly had a splitting migraine, and then it stopped. The _other_ he was sensing, it was gone with it.

Morgyn's hands dropped. "Vampire," the blond said.

Ezio frowned. "Vampire?" he asked.

"You had a vampire messing with your head," Morgyn explained. "Or at least, someone using vampire abilities to do it with."

Ezio didn't have any vampiric enemies, that he knew of. He frowned a little deeper, thinking it over. Morgyn rubbed the blond's jaw.

"You hit _hard_ , you know that?" Morgyn asked.

"Sorry," Ezio said, somewhat sheepish. And he wondered, if this had anything to do with what had happened in magic realm. He still had no answers for what had happened in magic realm, but he also hadn't been _thinking_ about it. Maybe because whoever had been in his head didn't want him to.

The other day, when he'd collapsed... he wondered if that was because of their guest, too. Now he had to wonder what all he'd thought himself, and what all had been the intrusion. Fuck, what all had he _said_?

"It's okay," Morgyn said, reaching over and taking one of his hands. "It's okay now."

"I don't know what I've thought and what's been a plant and how long this other person's been in my head, it's-"

"It's _okay_ ," Morgyn repeated. "They're gone now." The blond reached over, taking Ezio's crystal necklace in one hand, and casting a spell into it. "It'll stop that from happening again. Ezio, where's Mayor Whiskers?"

Ezio thought for a moment, and then sighed. "Newcrest," he said.

"The hell is he doing in _Newcrest_?" Morgyn asked.

Ezio shook his head. "I sent him looking for Keisha."

Morgyn frowned. "Why?"

"I had a feeling something was going on, and I figured if anyone would be able to help, Keisha might be useful about now," Ezio said. "But I don't know if he found her or not. He spent a lot of time in Granite Falls, though. He sure found _something_."

Morgyn released a sigh. "Alright," the blond said. "Well, I guess we wait and see if Mayor comes home. You should try and get some more sleep."

Ezio shook his head. "I can't yet," he said. "I'll just read until I can."

"Okay," Morgyn said. "I'll be across the hall."

"Drake's not here, is he?" Ezio asked.

"No," Morgyn said. "Lilith wanted to talk to him about something, not sure what. They went to a bar or something."

Oh. "Okay," Ezio said.

"Hey," Morgyn said, taking his hand again, "he'll be back before dawn."

Before dawn wasn't soon enough.

* * *

He did and did not feel better this morning, but the good news was, he hadn't woken up screaming again. The sense of something dark looming just over his shoulder was gone now, too, and he only recognised it was there when it was gone. Ezio had to wonder how long it'd been there in the back of his head.

Cassandra had sent him a good morning text, and they'd talked off and on all morning so far. For once, he felt a lot better than he had in a long time, and his thoughts weren't so dark anymore either.

In between making breakfast, and sitting down to eat it, he sensed something in the air shift. It felt like...

_Mayor!_

Ezio immediately stood up, rushing to the door, and pulling it open. The cat had just barely made it to the top of the stairs as he did. Ezio unleashed a squeal and ran over, scooping the cat up in his arms. Mayor either didn't mind it much, or was too tired to bother fighting him, either or. Ezio held him up, looking him over. He was a bit dirty, could use a bath and a good brushing, but he looked okay. There was something hanging from his collar that wasn't there before, though.

Ezio carried Mayor into the apartment, setting him down and pulling some of his food out of the fridge, putting it on the floor for him. Mayor's food was specially made for him. Not because he had any dietary requirements, just because Ezio didn't like to give him cheap dry food.

Besides, he _did_ have a little penchant towards getting bladder crystals.

As Mayor went to eat, Ezio knelt down and pulled the new dangling thing off Mayor's collar. It was a small metal tube, it turned out. The lid came off easily enough, with some twisting, and inside was a rolled up piece of paper.

Ezio sat down at the dining room table, pulling the paper out.

 _The All will defend itself when the barrier is threatened_ , the paper read, _and the sages' fates are tied to the All._

Ezio tilted his head, reading and re-reading it. What did that mean? The All itself had chased them out of magic realm? Because of a threat to the barrier, if this was implying what he thought it was. That meant there was a threat outside of it, not necessarily in it. Was that what was causing the memory issues he was seeing in Simeon and Morgen?

Wait, _mind control_. Why hadn't that ever crossed his mind as within the realm of possibility? No, he must've been exposed to it when he went to magic realm in the first place. Come to think of it, that was when his nightmares started, too. The only thing that didn't answer was how exactly the star creature had gotten out of magic realm with it on lock down like this.

Ezio released a sigh, setting the note down on the table and slid down in his seat. Idly, he reached over and scratched around Mayor's collar as he ate.

Then, he wondered if the All was what was causing Morgyn's issues. That was certainly within the realm of possibility, and quite frankly, made him an idiot, because if he'd just interfered with the bond between the All and one of its sages, it was unlikely to be terribly pleased with him. He was almost afraid to do magic, he thought, eyeing his hand warily.

That was weird, though, because if that was the All, it didn't _feel_ like the source of all magic, it felt like it was _created_ by magic, many, many spells woven and interlaced together over _centuries_ , and he wasn't talking _recent_ centuries, either.

Nah. He was probably just sensing it wrong in his panic.

Ezio reached over, folding the note up, and slipped it into a pocket. Then, he slid out of his chair, lying down on the floor to pet Mayor as he ate.

The door opened a few moments later, and Morgyn wandered in.

"Oh hey," the blond said. "Look who's home."

"Yeah," Ezio said. "He just came home a few minutes ago."

"Nice to see you," Morgyn said, reaching down to pat Mayor's head, and then sat in a chair.

"Hey Morgyn?" Ezio asked.

"Hm?"

"What do you know about the All?"

Morgyn looked surprised by the question, and then shrugged. "It's somewhat sentient, I know that," Morgyn said. "The sages are tied to it in a strange way. The light that chooses the sages, it doesn't just look nice and signal to everyone else the All's made a choice, it forms a bond between the sage and the All. I can hear it in my head, sometimes. It's been weirdly quiet recently."

Ezio snorted. Yeah, he uh, wondered why. "It talks?" he asked.

"Yes," Morgyn said, idly petting Mayor. "And no. It doesn't really use _words_ , you know. Thoughts and things, abstract ideas, feelings, colours sometimes. There are memories there, I think, it's hard to tell and make any sense of them. It drove Aine insane."

Ezio sat up. "Aine drove Aine insane," he said.

"No," Morgyn said, head shaking. "Aine heard it differently. Louder? I don't know. She said it would give her headaches. Always said it sounded like a screeching in her head that she couldn't shut off, but sometimes it was a melodic song, too."

A song or screeching, huh? "If you say so," Ezio said.

"I say so," Morgyn answered.

Ezio wouldn't tell Morgyn that he heard it, too, even before he apparently interfered with Morgyn's bond with the All. He wondered what that meant.

He figured he was finding out sooner or later, whether he wanted to or not.

* * *

A soft little whistling in the back of his head sounded. In the distance, he could hear the screeching in his head, too, like the sound of chainsaws grinding against each other. Softly, so softly, voices murmured and whispered, so soft he couldn't make out the words. The whispering grew louder, but he couldn't make the words out any easier, and then he jerked awake.

It was still dark, and the birds hadn't begun to sing yet. Ezio sat up, listening. The chiming and the screeching were both there, but notably quieter. He could hear Drake typing in the other room. Quietly, Ezio got up out of bed, soft footfalls leading to the door. He turned the doorknob before closing the door again behind him, and then went out the apartment door into the entryway. It was awfully bright out there, but he didn't care much, heading for the elevator.

It let out on the ground floor, and Ezio scurried out of the front door and into the street.

It was almost dead silent, the soft buzzing hum of the street lamps audible, the soft _tinking_ of bugs smacking into the glass around the lights breaking the monotony. He followed the sense of _wrong_ , down the street. As he reached the end of the street, he turned a corner and almost ran smack into Morgyn.

"What are you doing here?" Ezio asked.

"Following the wrongness," Morgyn answered. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Also following the wrongness," Ezio answered.

Morgyn sighed. "I'll go that way," the blond said, pointing. "You go that way."

"Fine," Ezio said. "And be _careful_ ," he warned, as he went.

"Yeah, yeah," Morgyn grumbled along the way.

Ezio shook his head, but he just went the direction Morgyn had decided he was going. And who said Morgyn was the lead of this expedition, _anyway_? Whatever. Because Morgyn was lead of _every_ expedition, that was why. Well, Morgyn had always been a leader type. Ezio wasn't, really, not anymore. Any sense of a leader that used to be in him had died when Ezio de Lorraine did.

There was a question Ezio had never answered; why the _fuck_ was his name _Italian_ , anyway? One of those great mysteries of life, he supposed. Maybe they had Italian ancestry or something, it seemed right. Probably everyone did, the Romans had conquered just about everything anyway.

The wrongness shifted, and Ezio changed direction, following it. It took a few redirections before he realised that it was leading him in circles, and he stopped where he was, sensing. Morgyn's magic flared in the distance. Ezio turned that way, and bolted.

Strangely, or not, Ezio skittered to a stop just outside Morgyn's firing range. He wasn't interested in getting caught up in that, but so far, Morgyn was holding the other off just fine. A woman Ezio didn't recognise fired off bolts of psychic energy. Vampire, then, and from the looks of it she was a powerful one. Morgyn unleashed a stream of fire, but she dodged every single one, rapidly firing bolts off as she went.

She was good.

Ezio stayed where he was, watching. Morgyn fired another stream of flame, and as the vampire jumped up, Morgyn stamped a foot down and flooded the street with fire. She had no choice but to land in it, at least, Ezio figured, but she disappeared mid-fall, instead. Ezio sucked in a breath of surprise. It took a lot of control to be able to do that, so few of them had actually pulled it off.

She reappeared behind Morgyn, and threw a psychic bolt. It hit before Morgyn could dodge it, throwing the blond right into the fire Morgyn had put there. Ezio disappeared, reappearing behind her, and threw a barrage of ice shards.

She dodged it, and then glanced between the two of them. Ezio started forming a larger ice spear, but she disappeared again, and this time, didn't come back. The sense of wrongness went with her.

Morgyn stood up, brushing the dust off the blond's clothes. "The heck was that?" the blond asked.

But Ezio knew. She was what he was sensing, the wrongness. _She_ was the one that set the All on edge. If Keisha would mention specifically the barrier, then it probably implied that this vampire was attacking the barrier around magic realm trying to break it. Vampires couldn't go through it normally. Drake and the Vatores were exceptions, not the rule, because they had spellcaster blood, and the All recognised them as belonging.

What exactly a stray vampire would want into magic realm for, _that_ he didn't know, but then the answer to that was pretty fucking obvious, too, wasn't it?

She wanted the All. For some reason. She already had so much power, it was hard to imagine she'd have any need of any more. But then, she didn't seem surprised Morgyn was that powerful, and even seemed to have been looking for the blond, and yet be surprised Ezio was there. It stood to reason she wasn't looking for _Morgyn_ , but a _sage_.

"Is that the vampire that was messing with my head?" Ezio asked.

Morgyn started to answer, and then head tilted, thinking. "Yeah, I think so," the blond said after a moment.

"Be careful," Ezio said. "She'll be back eventually, and I don't think she'll be so easy to scare off the second time."


	20. Only to Be With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the outline redo for TMA redone, yet again, in its entirety. The ending is ten chapters straight of Morgyn angst and pain. Just so everyone knows, that is a thing, please mentally prepare yourself for that, and maybe get a collection going of cute things to read in between. Might I suggest Pixie and Brutus?
> 
> Secondly, I’ll be splitting TMA in two at the middle, so here in like two more chapters or so. It’ll just be TMA1 and TMA2, but we’ll just refer to the entire thing as TMA because it’s all still TMA. Just, also horrendously long. I may need to do this with CMH, I do not know.
> 
> Finally, I’ll be running through the rest of TMA and writing out just the dialogue and I’m hoping that it will help me write these a little faster and maybe I can get ahead of myself.
> 
> End announcements.
> 
> This chapter was hard to write because it feels unnecessary and pointless but it is laying more groundwork. I’ve about had it with laying groundwork but there is so much to lay. It’s like a really humongous cathedral that needs flooring put in. And also it’s all marble tile. cccccc:
> 
> Thanks, I hate it!
> 
> Also Caleb threw me a wrench randomly, will be made apparent here in a second what the fuck his damage is, and I want everyone to understand, *I have no idea where it came from*, that was not my fault.
> 
> I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, U2

It was weird to only have a floor left. The counters and the appliances in the kitchen were still there, and Drake still had his laptop, but the rest of their furniture had been either sold or moved to Spire. Ezio was stretched out on the wood, gently petting Mayor as the cat snoozed beside him. Drake sat not far away, typing away on his laptop.

Ezio had eventually asked him how much he made in royalties, and he did make a good deal, around three thousand, closer to four sometimes. It was enough to get by on, a good deal of what they needed for the rent at Spire. Ezio was quite serious about keeping solid track of their income and expenses, so that when the medical assistance people asked him to prove his financial need, he could do it.

Quite frankly, though, how many people could afford his medication, anyway? It was like it was priced for rich people, because everyone knew only rich people got sick.

Ezio rolled over and stared up at the ceiling.

Drake looked over at him, pausing in his typing.

"I think I did something stupid," Ezio said quietly.

Drake tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

To be fair about it, Ezio did a lot of stupid things very frequently (like, ending up in bed with Cassandra, _that_ was pretty fucking stupid, god), so maybe this shouldn't surprise anyone. There were extra stupidity points awarded automatically to decisions that involved Morgyn in some manner, too, so that also shouldn't surprise anyone. The trouble was, this one was a _very_ stupid thing to do, if he was right in his assumptions, and he had no reason to think that he wasn't.

Interestingly, the headache and difficulty remaining conscious didn't seem to be as serious of a problem once the vampire in his head had been driven out. Ezio had to wonder if the vampire was also messing with Morgyn and incidentally exacerbated the issue. Or maybe something had changed.

Now he just felt _paranoid_.

"Morgyn's collapsing episodes," Ezio answered. "I figured out enough to know that they were caused by some kind of external thing. I even found it in Morgyn, or what I thought was its base, but I couldn't figure out how to sever its connection with Morgyn. So instead of wondering how best to deal with it, I did a spell on Morgyn to redirect its effects from Morgyn onto me."

Drake frowned slightly. "Is that why you were unconscious for a while?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ezio answered. "I'd cast protection spells on Morgyn before then trying to ward it off, and it'd seem it was working to some extent because the pain wasn't as bad. But I didn't have any protection spells on me, of course."

"So when you transferred it, it hit you really hard," Drake said, realisation dawning in his tone.

"Exactly," Ezio said. "Well, I sent Mayor Whiskers to look for Keisha, because she was the only sage left in range of us that wasn't insane or asleep all the time. I figured she may have answers, right?"

"Right," Drake said, nodding. "Did Mayor find her?"

"He did," Ezio said. "But now I think that what I redirected the effects of was the All."

Drake stared at him blankly, almost uncomprehendingly, for a moment, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, you did what?"

Ezio sighed. "Keisha said that the All will defend itself when the barrier is threatened," Ezio explained. "And the sages' fates are tied to the All. Maybe it was like a... like a distress signal of some kind."

"That's a very inefficient distress signal," Drake said.

"Well Morgyn wasn't in magic realm either," Ezio mentioned. "Who knows how it was affecting L and Simeon. At any rate, I think I'm now an honourary sage. Morgyn says the All's been quiet. Maybe because it's talking to _me_ now. I hear voices I didn't before. Get flashes from something I don't recognise."

Drake closed his eyes for a moment, then raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Ezio looked sheepish. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest thing he'd ever done. But, it was _probably_ the most _predictable_ thing he'd ever done, or one of them. Ezio looked down at the floor. Sometimes, Drake was difficult to look at for long periods of time. It wasn't shocking. Drake had been beautiful to him since France, and even now, centuries later, if Ezio spent too long staring at him, his heart did funny things and the urge to reach over and kiss him became almost too much to resist.

He wouldn't. Ezio had been with plenty of other men before, and as much as Ezio could say that he did love Drake, and he _did_ want him, he knew how it would end. The same way as it always did, of course. And Drake was so _careful_ with him, part of what Ezio loved about him, he'd likely not take it very well, and Ezio didn't want to incidentally hurt his feelings by _still_ being too sensitive and jumpy.

Cassandra was luckily female. Things worked a little differently with women.

"What now?" Drake asked. "Can you undo it, or are you stuck with it?"

Ezio glanced up at him, and then shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "I don't entirely remember what I did, I was just sort of playing with things and adjusting as I went until I got the result I was after. Or at the very least, got a result that I couldn't quite handle."

Drake sighed again. "You sure are something, you know that?" he asked.

Ezio snorted. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

It wasn't exactly quiet. There was some kind of tense buzzing in the back of Ezio's mind, but he couldn't necessarily put words to it, nor explain it even in his own head. He shuffled around the kitchen, working on heating something up for dinner. Ezio set the oven to it, picked up a cup of tea off the counter, and settled down at the dining room table to wait.

There was a soft jingling sound, to the side of him. Ezio looked down just in time for Mayor to jump into his lap off the floor. It was rare that Mayor jumped into his lap. Ezio sighed, reaching down to pet the cat.

Just to the side was a ghost, pacing around back and forth behind the couch. Ezio was pointedly ignoring him. The ghost seemed to be pretty aware that Ezio could see him, and was for some reason pretending otherwise. It was unfortunate, of course. Ezio didn't _like_ ignoring them.

But he was the third one today, and it was beginning to give Ezio a headache.

Quietly, Ezio sipped at his tea, one fingernail tapping the side softly. The ghost continued to pace. Mayor Whiskers turned and stared out the window. The only thing on the other side of that window was a brick wall from the adjacent brownstone apartment building, but Mayor liked to watch for birds.

The oven released a hiss. The teapot gurgled. And then the air sang.

Ezio startled, turning his head to face the direction it sounded like it was coming from. Mayor's ears twitched, and the ghost turned towards it, too.

Finally, Ezio's eyes landed on the ghost. "You can hear that?" he asked.

The ghost seemed surprised he was talking to him, but he supposed the confusion was absolutely warranted in this situation. "Sure," he answered.

"What is it? Do you know?" Ezio asked. He hadn't met anyone else that could hear the melodic song, and Ezio was starting to think it was all in his _head_.

Well, technically, it _was_ just his brain interpreting vibrations in the air and-that wasn't the point.

"Strange that you don't know," the ghost said, tilting his head at the spellcaster. "You're the bridge, after all, not me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ezio asked, frowning.

"Exactly what it sounds like," the ghost answered, shuffling around and 'sitting' in the chair across the table from Ezio. He was an older man, hair starting to thin and fall out, laugh lines around his nose and his lips. "Ghosts are attracted to you, you know."

"Because I'm a necromancer," Ezio said, nodding.

"No," the ghost corrected. "Because you are _bright_. Because when we don't know where else to go, can't find our way, there you are, shining like the sun and leading us home."

Ezio looked more confused than he did when they'd begun this conversation, eyeing the ghost for a moment, before his gaze fell to the floor, one hand raising to press a finger against his lips in thought. He'd heard stories from ghosts before, of how everything was kind of a haze, and getting from one place to another was a simple matter of thinking about it, and then you were there.

One would _think_ , of course, that a ghost's ability to pick him out of the grey haze that they experienced as ghosts would be because Ezio was a necromancer, and his soul was a little different than others' souls were. It was stronger, in a sense, it managed to radiate beyond his body. It was a difficult thing to explain and understand, of course.

One would apparently be wrong, and Ezio wasn't sure what that meant.

"I didn't know that," he said softly.

"I know you didn't," the ghost answered. "No one's ever told you, probably, seems kind of silly to assume you don't know that. The song comes from the in-between."

Ezio's head snapped up, eyes staring at the ghost in confusion. The song came from the _in-between_? That wasn't possible. "Why can I hear it, if it's from the in-between?" he asked.

"The in-between is your throne room, Ezio," the ghost replied, his arm resting on the table and propping his chin up. "It is the place you draw your power from, and your ruin. Ezio, all your roads lead to it, sooner or later. The song calls you to it. To your end. The longer you don't answer it, the louder and more insistent it will become. It's a quite simple cause and effect, really. Now, if you don't mind, I just need to give my daughter a message, and then I will move on. Please, help me."

The place he drew his power from, and his ruin, huh? That sure inspired confidence.

* * *

It seemed like the more questions Ezio asked, the more he gained. The answers that he was given made sense, at least, insofar as they answered the question satisfactorily, but they always led to more questions, and an ever-growing sense that no matter what Ezio did, he would never be able to reach the end of the road of questions.

No. It was more like, he was continually asking the wrong people the wrong questions. The trouble was, he didn't know what questions he should be asking, nor to whom he should be asking them.

Ezio sat on the floor, trying to rearrange his final presentation to be a little more organised and make a bit more sense. Of course, his mind was going a thousand miles a second, and it was difficult to focus on the task at hand. He still had so many questions, and very little idea how to resolve them.

Morgyn, visiting from the _Casa di Colori_ because it was quieter in Ezio's apartment, was flopped over on the floor, propped up by a beanbag chair, reading a book.

Ezio kept glancing at the blond like he wanted to say, or ask, something, but he was never entirely sure what to say, or ask, and the words died on his lips.

The blond occasionally glanced back at him in confusion. Ezio just shrugged. He didn't know what was going on in his own head anymore.

What he did know was, he wasn't getting anywhere on this presentation. Ezio set his work down, pulling his knees up against his chest for a moment. Then, he stretched back out, crawled across the floor, and snuggled up against Morgyn.

Morgyn didn't think anything of it, reaching down with the hand that wasn't managing flipping the book's pages, to finger-comb Ezio's hair.

Ezio didn't say anything, for a long moment, and then looked up at Morgyn. "Things are going to get worse, before they get any better, I think," he said.

Morgyn raised an eyebrow, glancing down at him. "Of course they are," the blond said. "That's how these things work."

"No, I mean..." Ezio started, releasing a sigh. "I mean really worse. I mean it may get so bad that we start questioning each other." It was likely, even. If Aine was behind all of this, she'd been trying to turn them against each other for _decades_.

"Come on, Ezio," Morgyn said, green eyes rolling slightly, "don't be so melodramatic. It won't come to that, our bond's stronger than that. I trust you, I really do."

Was that true? Morgyn seemed to believe it was true, but Ezio had to wonder. There were plenty of times already when Morgyn had questioned him and his motivations, and sometimes it was insulting. Other times, Ezio thought it was _probably_ rather valid.

"Sometimes, I don't think you should," Ezio said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Morgyn asked.

"I just... I don't." There were things that went on in Ezio's head sometimes that would probably make Morgyn wonder if Ezio was even fucking _sane_. Half the time, Ezio sure as hell did. "It's hard to explain, there are just some things in my head sometimes that make even me wonder, and I'm just a weakness anyway-"

"You stop that right now," Morgyn interrupted, "no you're not."

"A chain is only as strong-"

"-as its weakest link, I know, Ezio you're my brother not a chain link, you shut your mouth. And everyone thinks bad things sometimes. It doesn't mean they're bad people. _Acting_ on those bad thoughts is the problem."

Ezio looked up at the blond, and then back down at the floor. "I should have more control over my thoughts than that."

Morgyn released a huff. "That's not exactly how it works. Trust me, I've been trying for years."

"You're too impulsive to control anything in that head of yours," Ezio said.

"Hey, like you're not?" Morgyn asked.

"I at least pretend otherwise way better than you do," Ezio answered. Most of the time, Ezio did, anyway.

Morgyn pouted, gently shoving Ezio forward slightly, and then went back to petting his hair. They were quiet, for a long moment, but Ezio was thinking about the ghost issues, watching yet another ghost glide across the floor.

He was doomed to have a migraine for the next forever.

Unfortunately, not all ghosts were benevolent, and they all had a story to tell. And sometimes, that story, and the next one's story, and the _next_ one's story, altogether, strong and impossible to block out, became too much.

It was very uncommon to find a necromancer over a certain age that was _not_ insane.

"Morgyn, you know necromancy drives people insane," Ezio said softly.

"What of it?" Morgyn asked. "And don't tell me you think someday yours will. We're not talking about that."

"Closing your eyes to it doesn't make it go away," Ezio said.

"You've made it this far without losing it," Morgyn answered, stubbornly. "I have no reason to think you won't continue to."

"I'm also a lot stronger now than I've been the entire rest of my life." With his heart condition under better control now, his magic was starting to strengthen in response. It was getting difficult to tell ghosts and living people apart again, like it was when he was still a child. And maybe he couldn't say for sure it was because he was stronger, and not because of whatever was going wrong with the realms. But it could easily be because of either one.

"You're being doomsday," Morgyn said, tone flat.

"Morgyn, just promise me," Ezio asked, sitting up to look at Morgyn properly, "if anything happens and I do lose it-"

"You won't," Morgyn argued.

"If I do. Please," Ezio said, "just end it. Don't let me destroy everything."

"I'm not promising that," Morgyn stubbornly answered, head shaking. "I'd promise you anything, but not that. You ask someone that's not me."

"The only other person I might ask is Drake," Ezio said, "and he probably won't promise that either."

"Then, there you go," Morgyn said, giving him a look that seemed to imply he should've figured this earlier.

Ezio released a sigh. "You're ridiculous."

"So are you," Morgyn answered. "Now shut up and accept that I love you, and I will not be what kills you."

* * *

"I've got the nagging feeling that Aine's involved," Ezio said, pacing around in the very bare living room. "And with the ghosts so restless anymore, I can't help but wonder what she's doing."

It was like she was misusing her necromancy and affecting the balance between the dimensions, but one necromancer shouldn't be strong enough to be able to _do_ that.

On the other hand, she wasn't necessarily the only one, just the only one that _Ezio_ knew about, and she was rather powerful. It was possible, though, and might be relatively easy, for a necromancer to control enough other necromancers and perhaps some vampires and spellcasters, that they'd essentially have an army.

In hindsight, that could've easily been what Aine was doing, or at least _trying_ to do, with raising the vampires thirty years before. Ezio never did figure out what she was doing, because after he took Kat down, Aine seemed to get a little less careless in her actions and she'd essentially fallen off the radar.

"It's bad?" Drake asked, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned against the counter.

Ezio looked over at him, and then went back to pacing. "There's a new ghost hanging around our apartment building every time I wake up, I swear it," Ezio explained. "It's getting hard to focus on schoolwork. On _anything_."

"Have they at least been telling you why they're here?" Drake asked.

Ezio released a sigh, his hands dropping to his side as he stopped in the living room. "One told me I'm the bridge, and the in-between is my throne room, whatever that means." And that it was both the source of his power, and his ruin, but Ezio thought perhaps he'd leave _that_ particular bit out.

"That's not cryptic as fuck," Drake grumbled.

Of course it was. Ghosts were terrible about being straight-forward. Drake was fortunate enough not to have to deal with them as often as Ezio did.

"It doesn't tell me anything about what Aine's up to or how to find or stop her," Ezio said.

"I don't think you can handle Aine by yourself," Drake said, sounding uncertain and a little worried, eyebrows drawing together.

Ezio tilted his head at him. "You said that the last time, Drake. How much stronger do I need to be before I can take Aine out, then?" If he couldn't take her out _now_ , when he was the strongest he'd ever been in his life, then _when_ would he be strong enough?

"I will _never_ be okay with this," Drake said. "But as I've said before, you'll do as you do."

"I can't ignore this," Ezio said softly. It wasn't that simple. And even if he _tried_ to ignore it, eventually he'd start getting migraines from spirits that had been in this dimension too long, it was really just a huge mess. "I have to fix it."

"And why does it _always_ have to be _you_?" Drake suddenly burst out with. "Why can't you let someone _else_ do the stupid shit for once?! There are dozens of other necromancers in the world, Ezio, _please_. Just..." Drake pushed off the counter, pacing around too, running a hand through his hair.

And like it always did when this happened, Ezio's heart clenched in his chest, as he remembered just how much Drake went through because of him.

Why Drake never seemed to be interested in leaving and maybe living a much less stressful life, Ezio never did understand. And he was afraid of asking, most of the time, because Ezio couldn't imagine living a life that Drake wasn't in, and Ezio didn't want him to suddenly remember that he didn't have to stay, and go.

Ezio crossed the space between them, stopping Drake mid-pace and taking his hands in his own.

"There may be dozens of other necromancers in the world," Ezio said, "but the ghosts aren't going to them."

Drake snorted. "Maybe they are, and you're just not seeing it," he answered.

"It doesn't mean I can ignore the ones that are here any more than I could otherwise." They were still here, and not somewhere else. For all intents and purposes, they were his problem, not someone else's. "I was given necromancy for a reason." Everything happened for a reason, though they didn't always know what that reason was.

"That seems to be so you can suffer more," Drake said quietly. "Because something seems to think you haven't done that enough already."

"It's not that bad," Ezio said, frowning.

"If you say so." Drake didn't sound convinced but then he never did.

Ezio released a soft breath, raising one hand to rest against Drake's cheek. Drake turned his head and leaned into the contact. "You worry too much," Ezio said.

"I don't think there's a such thing as worrying too much when it comes to you," Drake answered wryly.

"I feel like I should be offended, but, I can't be," Ezio answered, smiling just slightly.

"Because I'm right," Drake answered, "and you know it."

Ezio snorted softly, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Drake's. He was just a tiny bit taller than Ezio was, more slender in build. With his ears pointed like they were, Drake kind of looked like what Ezio imagined an elf would.

Surprisingly, or not, Ezio really missed his hair. It'd been beautiful, and then Drake went and cut it off because his publishers were so worried about public image. To hell with public image.

Everything else had drowned out, and Ezio straightened up, his heels making him just a bit taller than he was usually; he could reach easier, and he moved to catch Drake's lips with his own. Ezio realised what he was doing, and stopped, however, looking up at him, wordlessly asking if he was okay with it. Not once had Drake ever crossed any lines with Ezio. It'd be a poor way of repaying that, to do it himself.

Drake seemed surprised by it, and it took a moment for him to do anything in response. Then he did, and their lips met. Ezio moved, the kiss deepening, as Ezio pressed a little closer to him, and then before he lost his sense like he did with Cassandra, Ezio fluidly backed away.

He still wasn't quite ready for that to go much further than it already had, though most of him wanted more. Drake seemed disappointed, a little, but wordlessly took Ezio's hand in his.

"Thank you," Ezio said. "For caring so much."

"Someone has to," Drake said quietly. "Have you told Morgyn? About Aine."

Ezio sighed, and shook his head. "I can't," he said. "I can't hurt Morgyn that way." And it would hurt, eventually, when Morgyn realised just what Aine had done, to magic realm, to L and Keisha, to _Morgyn_.

"It may hurt less than you expect," Drake said. "Trust Morgyn to trust you, mm? Morgyn should know that you wouldn't say something like that if it wasn't the truth as you know it. And trust Morgyn to be strong enough to handle it."

Ezio smiled slightly, glancing down at the floor.

The problem, of course, was that Ezio didn't think he could do any of those things.

* * *

He had bigger problems. Though Ezio was still confused by what the ghost had said the day before, worrying about what was going on in magic realm, and the vampire threat that had cropped up out of nowhere, that seemed more important at the moment.

Ezio could only do so much at once, after all.

Besides, they were moving soon, and Ezio was about ready for the move to be over with already. He was tired of it by now.

It was about time for a check-in with Troi, too. Ezio lay down on the bare floor, staring at the ceiling. His bed was still here, so it wasn't like he _had_ to lie down on the floor, it was just cooler down here. Ezio didn't have much of a heat tolerance, as it turned out.

As he lie there staring at the ceiling and thinking to himself, he could sense the air change, and then something moved at the corner of his eye. Ezio didn't bother looking at it, right away, trying not to roll his eyes instead.

"... again?" he asked the air.

He could hear laughing. It seemed this one was female, or had a very smooth voice. "I'm just here, I don't need anything."

Ezio rolled over on the floor, towards the direction the voice was coming from. "Then why are you here, exactly?"

"You're the bridge," the ghost woman answered, shrugging. "You're the safe one. You'll fix this eventually, right what has gone so wrong."

And what exactly was that? Ezio had been wondering for some time now, and now he had to wonder if perhaps he could get an answer from the ghosts themselves. They certainly all seemed to know there was something going on in the first place, and that was a start. "What's gone so wrong?"

The ghost looked a little surprised to be asked, and then shrugged again. "The worlds are a bit messed up now. Not sure what happened, but the things that are supposed to be dark are too bright, the things that are supposed to be bright are too dark, and it's hard to tell the living from the dead anymore. You noticed it, right? Ghosts are starting to look more alive? Living people are starting to look dead?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Ezio answered, but he did remember thinking more than once that it was harder to tell the living from the dead. Like it used to be when he was much younger. Were the worlds spilling into each other? That seemed like a very bad thing to him; the dawnlands, the dusklands, and the in-between were separate for a reason.

 _In the cracks between lie the key, the answer to this entropy,_ his mind filled in, but he couldn't remember the rest of it. It was something Keisha had told him once, a very long time ago. A riddle or rhyme about the in-between that talked about what it was for and something that was in it.

Maybe the thing that was in the in-between had leaked out of it. That almost made sense, except, he wasn't sure how it would've gotten out without them noticing.

"Huh, well you should, maybe it'll make more sense to you than it does to me," the ghost said. " _Something_ is messed up. _Really_ messed up."

Yeah, Ezio had figured that much out. He looked annoyed, probably, as Drake wandered out of the office and closed the door behind him.

"Ghost again?" Drake asked, pausing beside Ezio and looking at the, to him blank, space where the ghost was.

She looked up at him, and almost immediately looked a little star struck.

Ezio couldn't help the stab of annoyance. And then wondered why he apparently felt threatened by a _ghost_. Probably because they could, and sometimes _did_ , possess people. It was _rude_.

"Yeah, a few of them actually," Ezio said.

Another stood by the window, one rolling around on the floor in the kitchen, and there was a third that had disappeared into the bathroom and Ezio hadn't thought too much about beyond that.

"Anything I can help with?" Drake asked.

"Probably not," Ezio answered, tilting his head back to look at Drake and smile. "But thank you for asking."

Drake smiled, and went into the kitchen, walking through the ghost on the floor, headed for the plasma fruit and a blender.

Ezio tilted his head, and once again, he wondered what it'd be like to be a vampire. If, maybe, he _could_ live with it.

"You should keep that one," the ghost he'd been talking to said. "He's cute and he's got manners."

Yeah. It helped that Drake had his heart, too.


	21. And I Need To Be Loved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a weird phenomena happens when Morgyn and Liberty get in range of each other. Neither. One. Shuts. The. Fuck. Up. I swear to god. Okay this happens in the game? Right? This is how this happened in the first place because they started talking in the game and they would not freaking leave each other alone and then they popped the pink bar and then capped both bars when I blinked.
> 
> I just. Listen. I still don’t understand. I really don’t. I understand why my Morgyn in my head likes her and why she likes Morgyn; I don’t understand how they work so well in the game.
> 
> Anyway. Eye rolling at Caleb here. I still love Brandon though.
> 
> How Soon Is Now?; The Smiths  
> (It’s also been covered like a thousand times.)

The blond was starting to get accustomed to where everything was on campus anymore. Now, Morgyn could find just about anything, provided the blond didn't get anything mixed up or misremember. There were certainly times when Morgyn forgot something important and got turned around for no clear reason.

Morgyn headed around one of the buildings, out to the science building. The rumours were true, and all of the blond's science courses were in the same building. It was almost like they were shunned to the dungeon, but it made sense given the University of Britechester was an _arts_ university, not a science one. This was what the blond got for insisting on entering a science degree in the arts college.

As Morgyn made it around the building, the sense of dormant spellcaster caught the blond's attention again. It was still ten in the morning. Morgyn could make it. The blond scooted behind a bush, and transportalated over to Foxbury, then.

Morgyn stepped out from behind the bush the blond had teleported to, following the pathway until Liberty almost smacked into the blond. She loosed an adorable little squeak, coming to a stop, and she almost fell over, but Morgyn reached out and took her hand, getting her steady again.

"Imagine running into you again," Morgyn said, smiling.

"Hey, wow, yeah," Liberty answered, adjusting herself a bit as Morgyn let her wrist go. "Uhh. I'd ask you why you're talking to me again, but I wouldn't want to incidentally remind you that you can just not do that."

Morgyn loosed a snort. "I wouldn't stop talking to you. You're interesting to talk to."

"Really?" Liberty asked, her face screwing up in surprise. "I imagined I'd be really annoying to talk to. You know, I just kind of ramble about random crap no one cares about, and of course, I've never had a social standing in my entire life, so I've long stopped caring what comes out of my mouth. It's usually not very helpful for getting people to like me."

Morgyn had noticed that, of course. There was something about the particular manner in which she spoke, Morgyn found it magnetic and interesting, and somehow refreshing. Maybe because the world Morgyn lived in, it was full of secrets and lies and pretenses, and Morgyn was _oh so tired_ of secrets, and lies, and pretenses.

"Well, I'm not exactly _people_ ," Morgyn said. "I'm Morgyn. And I like that you're so honest."

"Oh." Liberty looked like she had no idea what to say to that. "Not that I was worried about it before, of course, but I'm definitely not worried about it now. So, how goes school?"

"Fine enough," Morgyn answered. "Most of my professors hate me because I missed the first few days of classes, but other than that, I'm not drowning yet."

"Yet?" Liberty asked, raising an eyebrow. "You expect to be drowning at some point?"

Morgyn snorted. "I'm not very good at science." Wait, no. Maybe that wasn't right. "Okay, well, I should say that I'm not _bad_ at science, I'm just not very well-versed in _current_ science. I had a bunch of very old science books for a while, you know the ones published in the eighties, and then turns out half of what I think I know has been proven wrong. It's kind of a kick in the teeth."

"I can see that," Liberty said, her eyebrows raising in understanding. She was so easy for Morgyn to read, so much unlike Caleb was. Morgyn _should_ be able to read Caleb easily, but he'd gotten good at hiding things, and Morgyn didn't know when. "Sure seems like it, I'm sorry."

"It is what it is," Morgyn said, shrugging. "I get by. How's yours going?"

"Oh, I failed a test because my hand smudged the paper wrong and kind of smeared half my answers," Liberty answered, laughing under her breath slightly.

Morgyn couldn't really understand how she was so nonchalant about it. That would've pissed the blond off in no time. "That... really sucks."

"Nah," Liberty said, shrugging one shoulder. "It's a really normal occurrence for me. I'm always smudging something, or losing things, tearing things on accident, breaking my _pens_..."

"You sound like a bad luck magnet," Morgyn said.

"Once when I was six," Liberty said, "my mother tried every good luck charm in Chinese superstition, dressing me in a lot of red, and coating me in jade bracelets. As you can tell, it didn't work. It turns out I'm not possessed by malevolent spirits, I'm just _really_ uncoordinated."

Morgyn smothered a laugh.

"This is extra funny because I'm really good at video games," Liberty said. "Lots of those require a certain finesse and hand-eye coordination. And good reflexes. I'm pretty good at fighting games, though logic says I shouldn't be."

"I've never played, or watched, a video game before," Morgyn said. "I wouldn't know."  


"Really?" Liberty looked surprised. "Not much of a nerd, I see."

"No," Morgyn answered, smiling. "I'm really more of a people person, myself."

"Maybe someday," Liberty said, "I'll drag you off to GeekCon or something, and you can watch me make some losers cry."

Somehow, the way the fire alighted in her eyes as she said that was eerily fascinating and also a little unnerving.

"And then probably proceed to trip on air, and break my nose," Liberty said, matter-of-factly.

"I should hope you won't actually break your nose," Morgyn said, frowning. "I think that would hurt a little, and besides, your nose is perfectly fine in-tact."

"Yeah, I do prefer it that way myself," Liberty said. "So, how _do_ you get your eyeliner like that?"

Morgyn blinked, head tilting to one side. It was weird she was so interested in the blond's eyeliner habits. Hers looked perfectly fine. "I never did get around to telling you, yeah? Well, you know, trade secrets aren't exactly free."

Liberty blew raspberries. "That's extortion, you _tyrant_."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Morgyn asked. And if anyone asked _why_ , Morgyn wouldn't be able to say for sure. The words had simply slipped out.

"What?" Liberty asked, looking rather surprised.

"Tomorrow," Morgyn said. "Saturday. Are you busy?"

"Uh. Not really," Liberty answered. "Why?"

"We could go somewhere, maybe, if you're up for it," Morgyn said, shrugging one shoulder. "Have a really long talk over a martini or something. Share trade secrets."

Liberty made a face. "I don't think I have any trade secrets that are particularly valuable to you," she said.

"I think you do," Morgyn answered.

"Oh. Well, now I _have_ to say yes to prove you wrong," Liberty said.

Hey, if it got her to say yes, Morgyn didn't mind anything. "We'll meet up here then," Morgyn said. "Say, around seven maybe?"

"Yeah, that works," Liberty said. "Gosh, it almost sounds like a-" She went quiet. "Never mind."

"A date?" Morgyn suggested.

"Nope," Liberty said, shaking her head. "Definitely not."

"Okay," Morgyn said, laughing quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. And don't break your nose. It's cute."

* * *

Ezio had cheated. He and Drake's things were already packed up and ready to go, half their furniture was sold off. Morgyn didn't have much to pack in the first place, being as the sage didn't _own_ much of anything, either, but the Vatores had apparently accumulated a respectable amount of sentimental junk while living in Wolfsbane.

For some reason, they had gotten rid of a lot of it, so they said, and still had a mountain of it. It didn't add up. Someone was lying.

"Hey," Morgyn asked, returning to the living room from the bathroom. The blond was helping the Vatores move, because clearly _Ezio_ didn't need the help. "Where'd the box that was here go?"

"Oh, I had to move it into the hallway, sorry," Caleb answered. He was over there dealing with the massive collection of vinyl albums they had.

"It's fine," Morgyn said, shuffling into the hallway, "it just confused me."

"Thanks for helping by the way," Caleb said. "I know you're probably pretty busy getting yourself moved, and I'm surprised you're not helping Ezio."

Morgyn snorted. "I don't have a lot. And Ezio went and packed everything he and Drake own with magic the other day, then sold off a lot of their furniture. They're actually already mostly in Spire."

Caleb set down the album in his hand. "So you're telling me... Ezio cheated?"

Morgyn snorted. "Thank you! He did," Morgyn answered. "He tried to tell me it wasn't cheating, but it absolutely was. Would _I_ do it? Sure as fuck I would. It's still cheating."

Caleb snorted, going back to getting the vinyls back in their proper sleeves and in the box. "Definitely still cheating."

"Oh, Lilith got the dishes, right?" Morgyn asked. If not, the blond could do that after this box had been sorted.

"No," Caleb answered. "But the dishes are gotten, though."

"I feel like there's a story here," Morgyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"She got annoyed, and set a plate down on something a little too hard," Caleb answered. "Shattered it instantly."

"Oh," Morgyn said. "... for someone that's been this strong for over a hundred years, she sure forgets she is a lot."

Caleb shrugged. "She's working out more, I think she's stronger now than she used to be is the problem."

"That'd make sense," Morgyn said.

"I set her on the books instead, but anyway, the rest of the dishes got moved out," Caleb said. "Some of them I ended up donating, there were some incomplete sets we had lying around. There's at least one good set of china, though."

"That's nice," Morgyn said. "That'd come in handy if we ever wanted to do anything for the holidays. Harvestfest and Winterfest are good for sitting around a table and going into a food coma."

"I'm not really into holidays," Caleb said, shrugging.

"Really?" Morgyn asked. "I figured you'd love the holidays. You're exactly the type I can see running around the house decorating everything and then spending five years in the kitchen making dinner."

"Lilith isn't really into holidays," Caleb said, "I guess is more accurate. So I never got into them either."

"I see," Morgyn said, sitting back on the floor. "Well, Ezio tolerates my weirdness over Winterfest at least. If you wanted to start doing things for the holidays, I don't think it'd be a problem."

"It seems weird to try changing you guys, that's all," Caleb said.

"Sometimes change is a good thing, Caleb," Morgyn said. "And besides, we'll all be living together. Change is kind of inevitable."

"I know," Caleb said. "I don't know, I don't really understand it either, I think."

Morgyn smiled a little. "Well, whenever you understand it better, I'd love to hear about it."

"Okay," Caleb said. "Hey, uh. I was thinking maybe we'd go somewhere soon?"

Oh. Right. Morgyn almost forgot they were dating sometimes. The entire thing was just a confusing mess now, and Morgyn preferred not to think about it too much.

Something about the way Caleb asked that made Morgyn wonder why he was asking at all. Caleb was such a mess of mixed signals, being so excited about going out somewhere, but when they were out, it was another story. And he still wouldn't _touch_ the blond, really.

Maybe Morgyn was overthinking it. Maybe there was some signal the blond was supposed to be getting that was going over Morgyn's dense little head. Maybe Caleb just meant this as friends and not romantically and Morgyn was completely misunderstanding the entire thing.

Maybe Caleb was actually _straight_.

"Yeah, maybe," Morgyn said. "That's fine. How soon?"

"You don't have to say yes if you don't want to go," Caleb said.

"I want to, Caleb, I just can't tell if _you_ do," Morgyn answered with a sigh.

"What?" Caleb asked, his eyebrows drawing together. "Why would I ask if I didn't want to?"

"I don't know," Morgyn said, hands tossing into the air and falling onto the blond's thighs with a loud slapping sound. "I was hoping you could tell me. One minute, you can't seem to think of anything _but_ me, the next it's radio silence. You still won't kiss me and barely touch me besides. Just. Caleb, what exactly do you want from me? Do you want _anything_? Am I just misunderstanding?"

Caleb's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything at all, turning away to stare at the kitchen floor.

Morgyn released a sigh. "Yeah..." the blond said, standing up and picking the box up off the floor. "I don't know, either."

* * *

It was seven thirty. Morgyn was a bit worried. Liberty was late, but the blond was trying not to think about it too much. Usually, the paranoid one was Drake, but Morgyn knew it, that Liberty's magic binding was coming undone, and there was something big going on in the magical realm and maybe the blond had also just said something stupid.

Damn it.

Morgyn paced around, arms crossed, trying to think of anything else but this. And just as the worry started turning into a gnawing in the blond's stomach, the sound of heels tapping against the concrete sounded, and Morgyn turned around to find Liberty running over.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "I am so sorry, I am a little late, I broke one of my heels and I almost missed my train and I'm sorry-"

"Hey," Morgyn said, reaching out to take her shoulders. "It's fine, are you okay? Didn't sprain your ankle or anything, right?"

"No," Liberty said. "I'm fine. Somehow, constantly falling, tripping, and crashing into things, it made me kind of bouncy."

"I... am not so sure that's how it works," Morgyn said, smiling.

"Trust me, that's definitely how it works," Liberty said. "You look really good. I'm kind of jealous again."

"Jealous?" Morgyn repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Of what?"

Liberty looked like she was debating what to say for a moment, and then her head tilted to the side. "You know, your eyeliner," she said.

Morgyn snorted. That was absolutely _not_ what she was thinking, but at least she had the courtesy not to be too forward this early. "Right," Morgyn said. "Your eyeliner's not that bad, I'd like to point out."

"Maybe it just looks better on you, or something," Liberty said. "You know I bet just about anything would look better on you than me."

Morgyn would beg to differ, but decided not to. "You're biased, is that what I'm hearing?"

"What? Maybe. No. Probably," Liberty said. "Anyway, where are we going?"

"The bar over there," Morgyn said, and then started that way.

"Oh neat," Liberty said, following. "They have soda, right?"

"You don't drink?" Morgyn asked.

"Not really," Liberty answered. "If I'm drinking, I'm either _really_ depressed, or _really_ desperate, one of the two. Oh, or Travis bought too much wine for cooking. Listen, cooking wine is _not_ very good. I would not recommend drinking it. Use it in any other way. Fuck, use it as weed killer before you drink it."

"It's not that bad," Morgyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"It kicks you right in the nose, Morgyn," Liberty said, and Morgyn had to admit, the blond liked how she said the name. "It's terrible. Or you're just used to cheap wine."

"I'm just not terribly picky," Morgyn said. "And the stronger a nose hit it is, the more distracting it is."

"That's ridiculous," Liberty said. "If you want a distraction, there are hundreds of things that are better than drinking cooking wine."

"I... have run out of arguments," Morgyn said, smirking, as they made it to the bar, and Morgyn opened the door.

"Mm-hmm," Liberty said, shuffling inside. "Cause I'm right. Next time you want a distraction, you call me, right? I'll introduce you to The R.E.F.U.G.E. and Density Effect. Stabbing people in a video game is way better a method of stress relief. Or shooting, shooting works."

"Stabbing people?" Morgyn asked. Wasn't that a bad thing?

"The fake blood, man," Liberty said, "it goes like _squirt squirt_ and you're just sitting there watching it, probably questioning your life choices and going that is not how that works."

Morgyn snorted. "I wouldn't really know how it works anyway."

"Really?" Liberty asked. "Huh. Well, normal people probably don't hurt themselves as constantly as I do. That makes sense."

"Is this something I ought to get used to?" Morgyn asked, sitting down at the bar. From the corner of the blond's eye, Morgyn could tell there were several other patrons in the establishment paying a lot of attention to them. At first, though, Morgyn _assumed_ the attention was on the blond; a few coy glances revealed Liberty was getting just as much attention.

"Yeah, probably," Liberty answered, taking the seat beside Morgyn's. She didn't seem to notice the attention at all. Morgyn wondered if it was a deliberate thing.

"You should stop doing that," Morgyn said.

"I'll let you know if I ever figure out how," Liberty said, smiling, and then turned to look over the menu above the bar. "Oh! Morgyn look, they've got chocolate milk! Hi! Hello! Lovely bartender! Could I get a chocolate milk, please?"

"Sure," the bartender answered, leaning over and taking a bottle of chocolate milk out of the mini fridge beneath the bar, and handing it to her.

"Ahhh!" Liberty squealed, her hands wrapping around the bottle. "I love you! You're my favourite person! Okay second favourite person, my mom's first maybe."

Morgyn laughed. "You really don't like drinking I guess."

"Nah," Liberty said. "I just _really_ like chocolate milk."

"Could I get a Sea Splash, please?" Morgyn asked the bartender.

The man nodded, and went to making the drink. Liberty still didn't seem to have noticed how much attention she was getting. One of the men in the back whistled at her.

She didn't even turn around.

"Do you come here a lot?" Liberty asked.

"Not really," Morgyn said. "I have a bunch of bars I go to, but this one's kind of new to me. Only been here once before."

Liberty looked confused. "Huh," she said. "Never would've pegged you for a bar fly."

"Oh?" Morgyn said, looking amused. "What'd you peg me for?"

"I don't know," Liberty said. "Something more posh than a bar. Like an upscale lounge, you know the kinds celebrities hang out in."

"I'm not a celebrity," Morgyn said, nodding at the bartender as he handed the blond the Sea Splash.

"You sure look like one," Liberty said, and then paused to drink some of her milk. "I kind of thought you were, the first time I saw you. You could definitely be a model."

Morgyn's eyebrow raised. The blond took a drink of the Sea Splash, setting it down on the bar with a _tap_. It wasn't bad, but Morgyn had drunk better. "What's that?"

"A model?" Liberty asked.

Morgyn nodded.

"You don't know?" Liberty asked, eyebrows raising. "Wow. They pose for pictures, usually wearing someone's fashion designs. Some participate in fashion shows, too, and there are gigs for makeup publicity campaigns. Some other things, commercials and whatnot."

"They get paid for that?" Morgyn asked.

"Yup," Liberty answered, drinking some more milk. "Sometimes it's a lot of money, depending on what the work's for and how popular the model is."

Morgyn went quiet. That sounded a _lot_ less traumatising than the work Morgyn did now. The blond glanced down at the Sea Splash. "Sounds pretty nice," Morgyn said, and then downed the rest of the glass.

Liberty looked surprised. "Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't know," she said. "You know, you never said what you wanted to do after university."

"Oh," Morgyn said, blinking in surprise. "Uhm. I haven't really thought about it." There hadn't honestly been the time, though.

"Well, you've got a few years I assume, right?" Liberty asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn said. "I can think about it."

They went quiet, Liberty drinking her milk. Morgyn glanced around, watching the other patrons. Still, Liberty hadn't noticed the attention, but she did seem a little out of her element here.

Frankly, Morgyn was too.

After a moment of thought, Morgyn sat up a bit straighter. "Soo," Morgyn started, "do you wanna see my favourite bookstore?"

At that, Liberty's eyes lit up, and she quickly downed the rest of her milk, and stood up.

Apparently, that was a yes.

* * *

"The only thing I can't stand in books is an ending that doesn't make any sense," Liberty said, flipping through the book in her hand. She was flopped over on her side on the floor beside the blond, who sat with a book too. On either side of them were several stacks of books, some fantasy, some science-fiction, some historical...

"Yeah, those are annoying," Morgyn said.

"The ones that leave you with more questions than it answered," Liberty said. "Those are _so_ frustrating."

"I've run into way too many of those," Morgyn said, eyes rolling. "Why write the book if you're going to leave so many loose ends?"

"Right?" Liberty said. "I mean I guess there's something to be said for making people _think_ about certain things, but then there are other things that aren't really thought-provoking so much as frustrating."

"Exactly! It's so nice to talk to someone that gets it," Morgyn said, sighing. "Well, Ezio does too, but we don't really have the time to talk about that much anymore." It seemed like something was always imploding anymore.

"Who's Ezio?" Liberty asked.

"Oh, sorry," Morgyn said. "He's my twin brother."

"The one with the disability?" Liberty asked.

"That's the one," Morgyn answered. "We're fraternal, but we look almost identical. He's just got black hair and grey eyes."

"Wow, there are _two_ of you running around," Liberty said, laughing. "A modelling agency would _love_ to get a hold of you both probably."

"You think?" Morgyn asked.

"I'm willing to bet so," she answered, flipping the page again. "... what's wrong with him, anyway? You never said. ... wait, I'm sorry, that was insensitive-"

"No, it's okay," Morgyn said. "I'm just not used to people that don't know. Um. He has something wrong with his heart, and it's gone into heart failure."

"Oh..." Liberty sounded sad, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm so sorry. That sounds really rough. Is he after a transplant at least?"

Morgyn's head shook. "No," the blond said. "We can't afford it."

"It can't be that bad," Liberty said.

"The operation is over a million dollars in cost," Morgyn said. "And you can't even get on the wait list until you can prove you can pay for it. The anti-rejection drugs afterwards are another 2,500."

"Holy _smokes_!" Liberty said, her eyes widening.

"Yeah," Morgyn said. "Unfortunately, we just don't have it, and no one wants to cover a cost that high. I don't make enough money, either, and neither does he. The wait time can be pretty terrible too, usually over six months before they can find a donor."

"That's... that could save his life, though, right?" Liberty asked.

Morgyn shrugged. "Theoretically. But you know, some things just don't work out I guess."

"I'm so sorry, really," Liberty said, reaching over and taking one of Morgyn's hands in hers.

"It's not your fault," Morgyn said. Her eyes told the blond she meant it, and she wasn't just saying that.

"I know it's not," she said, "but I can't imagine this is easy for you. Or him."

"Some days are better than others," Morgyn said. "Ezio likes to say that he's not at any higher a risk of dying than anyone else is, but he's made it ten years longer than he should've. We don't know what that means."

"One of those things that could go either way?" Liberty asked.

"Yeah," Morgyn said, nodding. "He decided a long time ago that he doesn't want anything changing because of it. So, we live every day pretending that he's not dying, and hoping to god that he never does. And sometimes... I just can't _stand_ it anymore. We don't even _talk_ about it."

Liberty looked a little sadder. "I think that's the most valid thing I've ever heard."

Morgyn snorted softly. "It just feels really selfish most of the time. I can't say anything to Ezio either. He has enough to worry about."

"Maybe he feels the same way," Liberty said. "I think he might understand."

"It's okay," Morgyn said, shrugging one shoulder. "Some things are better left unspoken."

Liberty thought about it for a moment. "If you chose not to say it, and then lost the opportunity to, would you regret not saying it? Maybe you _should_ say something."

Morgyn's head shook. "No," the blond said. "It's complicated. It's like I'd be ignoring what Ezio wants because it isn't what _I_ want."

"Ooh..." Liberty said, thinking. "Yeah, that's true. Well, I'm never doing anything aside from tripping on air and cleaning toilets, so if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll listen."

"Thanks," Morgyn said, smiling softly. "That means a lot."

"I'm just glad to be helpful," Liberty said. "You're nice to talk to. I think I'd like to do it more."

"I think I'd like that, too."

Liberty smiled slightly, the light sparkling in her eyes, and then she seemed to realise she was still holding Morgyn's hand, turned a little bit pinkish around the tip of her nose, and let the blond's hand go. And Morgyn was amused, and a little disappointed.

"Hey, out of curiosity," Morgyn started, "what do you think about magic?" Maybe asking about her feelings on it in general would help Morgyn gauge how she was going to react to _having_ it.

"It's cool!" Liberty said. "I'd love to be able to just strike people I hate with lightning bolts."

Morgyn laughed. "You know what they say," the blond said, "with great power comes great responsibility."

"Yeah," Liberty said, "but at least in my head fantasies, I can pretend there's no such thing as responsibility. I hate it anyway."

"So it'd be cool if magic was real?" Morgyn asked.

"Mm, kind of," Liberty answered.

"Why only kind of?" Morgyn asked.

"Humans are already really good at hurting each other," Liberty said. "They don't need magic to help."

Morgyn smiled. Somehow, she kind of reminded him of Lilith, just much louder, and nerdier. "There are always good humans," Morgyn said. "The ones that help protect other humans from the ones that hurt people."

Liberty smiled back. "Yeah," she said. "I wouldn't be one of those."

"Why not?" Morgyn asked.

"I trip on _air_ , Morgyn," she said. Morgyn still loved the way she said the name.

"You could be a bad-ass on accident," Morgyn said. "Right? Trip on air and hit the bad guy with a burst of fire you didn't intend to cast." It'd happened.

"I'd be the one aiming for someone's arm, and I'd shoot a magic arrow through their chest," Liberty said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, that has a level of cool," Morgyn said. Deadly! On accident! Or Morgyn had a type and that type was dark-haired, a little awkward, and dangerous.

"It has a level of what the fuck," Liberty said, laughing.

The lights in the back of the store turned off. Morgyn glanced up. "I think maybe they're closing," the blond said.

Liberty pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Yeah, it's almost eleven," she said.

"Did you buy the books you wanted?" Morgyn asked, sitting up and starting to put the extra books back.

"I did, yeah," Liberty answered, helping put the piles back. "Did you?"

Morgyn nodded. "I did." As they got the last book back on the shelf, Morgyn handed one to her. It was a faux-leather bound book, with a magnetic closure, and stars on the cover. The inside was cream-coloured, gold-lined blank paper. A journal.

She was going to need one.

"This is for you," Morgyn said. "I paid for it already."

"What?" Liberty asked, taking it, and looking at the inside. Stars and moons decorated the page edges. "It's beautiful."

Yeah, she sure was. "I'm glad you like it," Morgyn said. "We should go before we get yelled at."

Liberty laughed, picking up her other books. "Thank you," she said. "I had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

Morgyn felt a little lighter, after that. Somehow, it was so much easier to talk to Liberty, to be who the blond was without any pretenses. Liberty didn't seem like she had any expectations, didn't seem to really want anything out of it, except maybe someone to talk to.

It was such a surprising thing, to end up attracted to someone else, even this little bit. It'd taken Morgyn a long time to get attracted to Caleb, but to be fair about it, Morgyn hadn't spent a lot of time examining the feeling of wanting to talk to him, either. Maybe the blond had been more attracted to him than first believed.

And, now the blond had more books. Having more books was always a win if one was asking Morgyn. That _was_ more to pack, too, but at least the blond would have something to fill the shelves with at Spire when they got there.

Morgyn smiled slightly, walking up the steps into the _Casa di Colori_. And then smelled something familiar.

The blond looked up, green eyes meeting Caleb's grey ones. Caleb looked a little upset, Morgyn thought.

"And now I'm getting the fuck up outcho business," Brandon said at the front desk, then stood up and walked away.

Morgyn snorted. Well, he probably saw the look they were giving each other. Morgyn shuffled over to Caleb, looking up at him.

"Hi," he said quietly, his gaze softening.

"Hi," Morgyn answered.

They were quiet for a long moment, and then Caleb cleared his throat. "How did. Uh. How are you?" he asked.

Morgyn snorted. "I'm fine," the blond answered. "I just went out with a friend, don't worry so much."

"I wasn't worried," Caleb said, immediately. "I just. Um."

Morgyn arched an eyebrow. "You were worried." It was written all over his face. Caleb very much wore his heart on his sleeve, and it was easy enough to tell what he was feeling and thinking half the time, because it was right there for all the world to see.

"I'm sorry Morgyn," Caleb said. "I didn't really think about it too much, about how I was making you feel, and I'm sorry."

Morgyn's gaze softened too, eyebrows raising slightly. "It's fine," the blond said quietly. "I'd rather understand _why_ you're doing it. I can't read your mind, Caleb. I don't understand what you're doing or why, or what you need from me, unless you _tell_ me."

"It's stupid," Caleb said, fidgeting.

Morgyn moved, setting the blond's books down on one of the chairs, and then reached over to rest a hand on Caleb's. "Try me," Morgyn said.

Caleb was quiet for a moment, debating in his head. Morgyn was patient, for once. Morgyn was always patient with Caleb. "It's just that," Caleb said, " _everyone_ wants you, Morgyn. I see it, every time we go out somewhere, you get _everyone's_ attention, and you _keep_ it. I don't... I don't want to be just another guy that wants you."

Morgyn watched him for a moment, and then released a sigh, the blond's eyes sliding closed. "Oh you _stupid_ ," Morgyn said softly. And then Morgyn looked up at him, resting a hand on his cheek. "You can't be, because you're _you_. No one else means to me what _you_ do. And no one else has _my_ attention but you."

No one would, either. Because when they were together, they may as well be the only two people in the room. Morgyn didn't see anyone but Caleb, and didn't want to, either.

The blond took Caleb's hands, head falling gently against his shoulder.

"We're going to be okay, right?" Caleb asked.

"Of course we are," Morgyn said. "It's not like I intended to let go of you, anyway."


	22. But We're Lying to Ourselves Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This be the end of TMA1, and we are now transitioning into TMA2, or we will… when I come back. Because I have work to do that I’ve been ignoring for two weeks and also I should do schoolwork and idk maybe some other real-life things.
> 
> Kind of a crappy note to end on, ngl. But also there are like 20 more chapters, I can’t remember exactly but I think it’s 20 even, left in TMA, and then we will be going into CMH. Anyway, see you guys in a week or so.
> 
> Run For Cover, Kito and Reija Lee  
> When I wrote the original TMA, I was listening to this song on repeat.

There wasn't much left to do. Morgyn had come by the day before and helped a good deal, probably because Caleb had said something and upset the blond. Strangely, Morgyn worked faster when the blond was annoyed, and Lilith should _probably_ be concerned that Caleb and Morgyn were apparently fighting, but right now, she'd take the incidental bonus of their move going by quicker.

Sooner or later, Caleb would sort through what was in his head, and then she'd hear all about it. The way she figured, she may as well find some joy in it for right now, right? Right. It wouldn't last forever, and most likely, Caleb would need her help sorting through the _rest_ of what was in his head, because it seemed like he had no idea.

There were times when he had a much better idea of what was going through his head, and Lilith, at times like those, only needed to nudge him gently the right way. Other times, he had no more idea than she did, and he needed help making sense of it all. There were other-other times when his head was such a mess even Lilith couldn't really make sense of anything going on in it, but they got through it sooner or later.

It was probably time to take a break. Lilith released a puff of air, sitting back on her heels, and pulling her phone out. She'd been at this for the last five hours straight. The good news was, she was almost done, and if she was thinking correctly, she and Caleb should be done moving into Spire that evening. All that was left was selling the furniture they didn't need, but Lilith was considering donating it just to be rid of it.

She stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes, and shuffling into the kitchen. The apartment looked strange after being stripped down this way, but she supposed that was to be expected.

Vlad's absence still hurt, somewhat. But she was getting better, a little at a time. Most likely, the urge she had to curl away from everyone and hide, it probably wasn't going to make her feel any better, though it may feel like it should. Maybe she'd go out somewhere later, drag Ezio or Drake or both off and spend some time out in the city, getting fresh air and being around people.

She'd already gone up to Uptown to check out the gym the other day. It had a nice view of the city, too, and Lilith was kind of excited to live so close to it. It'd be a nice thing. And maybe living that close to a gym would make her leave the apartment more often than school required.

Lilith set to making tea, a boring chamomile she'd been drinking a lot off and on to keep her nerves calm. As she shuffled around setting the teapot to making it, her phone made a chiming sound. Lilith's eyes glanced at it, and then when the teapot started going by itself, she reached over and picked it up.

 _The spellcaster's gone_ , the message read. It was from Elle. _Miss Hell moved into Straud manor though, and I think Markus did too._

Lilith frowned. Miss Hell would be notably easier to take down than a spellcaster of Aine's calibre would, but she wasn't quite sure what to make of Aine's sudden retreat. Of course, Lilith figured she was smart enough not to stay where Morgyn had a chance of sensing her. She was good at ducking under the blond's radar like that.

Morgyn knew Aine very well, of course, but Aine knew Morgyn just as well.

 _You don't have any ideas why she left? Did anything change?_ Lilith sent back.

It was only a few minutes before Elle replied. _Not really. Though the Hollow feels a little off anymore. The spellcaster did something before she left but I don't know what._

That was concerning. Aine could've done just about anything, and Lilith wouldn't know until they punched through that barrier and threw the princess off her throne. Lilith frowned a little deeper.

_Well, I guess we'd better focus on one enemy at a time. I'll come by later, and we'll get plans going for getting Miss Hell and Markus dealt with._

_You're killing her, right?_ Elle sent back.

Lilith made a face at her phone. _I did not intend to._

_An enemy still breathing is a problem still standing._

Lilith didn't want to admit Elle was right, but, Elle was right. _Alright, fair point. We aim to kill,_ Lilith said.

_Damned straight we do._

* * *

"So, how much are you aware of already?" Caleb asked, settling down on the floor next to Lilith.

Lilith raised an eyebrow, then turned off the game she'd been playing on her phone, and set the device down. "I know you and Morgyn had a spat," she said.

Caleb waited a moment, and then raised his eyebrows. "That's it?" he asked.

Lilith snorted. "I don't make a habit of eavesdropping on your private conversations, if that's what you're asking."

"No I know," Caleb said. "I just, figured you'd have heard or figured out more than that. I mean you and Ezio talk a lot if nothing else."

"Not about you and Morgyn," Lilith said. "When we're talking to each other, we usually don't want to think about you two's problems."

"You say that like we have a _lot_ of them," Caleb said.

Lilith simply gave him a look.

Caleb seemed to get the hint, and ducked his head.

"What'd you do this time?" Lilith asked.

Caleb snorted. "Why do you assume it was me?"

"Because you're the one that doesn't seem so sure about this suddenly," Lilith said.

"You can tell?" Caleb asked.

Lilith shrugged. "You're my brother," she said. "That's probably the only reason. But yes. You look confused, and conflicted, and like you don't know what to do, and Morgyn looks at you like you turned into a hydra. So my best guess is, you did something."

Caleb sighed. "Well, I hurt Morgyn's feelings I think," he said.

"And how'd you do that?" Lilith asked.

"We haven't kissed yet," Caleb answered.

Lilith tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him again. "Why? Morgyn's only been looking at you like he wants you to jump him for like, fifty years."

Caleb looked at her like she was telling lies, and then shrugged at looked up at the ceiling. "It just feels kind of superficial."

"Uh- _huh_..." What did that even _mean_? "Okay... so you fixed it and kissed him, right?"

"No," Caleb answered.

"What?" Lilith released a sigh, and got a bit of a groan with it. "Caleb, Morgyn _loves_ you and now's a really weird time to decide to go questioning that."

"Does he?" Caleb asked. "Because I'm starting to wonder."

"And why on _earth_ would you be wondering?" Lilith asked.

"Never mind," Caleb said, standing up. "You just don't see it. I gotta go to class anyway."

"Don't see _what_?" Lilith asked, but Caleb just turned down the hallway and didn't answer. Lilith released a loud sigh. _Men_. This was why she was single, and had been single pretty much her entire life. Never mind that a lot of men found her kind of intimidating. She couldn't say she didn't understand. Sometimes, _she_ found herself intimidating.

Lilith grumbled under her breath, picking her phone up off the floor and sliding it into a pocket, then standing up. There were a couple trash bags that needed to go out anyway, and she had things to do besides wonder what went on in Caleb's head.

If he wasn't careful, though, Morgyn would eventually give up on him. And Lilith didn't think Caleb would handle that very well, considering how much _he_ loved Morgyn right back.

"But what the fuck do _I_ know," Lilith grumbled under her breath, carrying the trash bag to the door. "It's not like _I've_ been around the entire time or anything. Don't see it my ass-oh!"

As Lilith opened the door, she found there was someone else on the other side.

"Uh... hi," Emilia said, somewhat shyly. "Do you remember me?"

"Yeah, I remember you," Lilith answered.

"Right, I guess that was a frustrating ordeal," Emilia said. "Sorry to just wander by, I found you in the phone book..."

Lilith released a breath, watching her for a moment, and then shuffled out into the hallway and dropped the trash bag down the chute. "Do you want to come in?" Lilith asked, turning back to Emilia. "You look like you could use some tea and a talk."

"Yeah," Emilia said, smiling. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like that."

* * *

Unfortunately, since they were still missing their furniture for the most part, the two ended up standing around the living room, if one could really call that the living room. Lilith was quiet while she shuffled around the kitchen, making more tea. Emilia glanced around in curiosity.

"Are you moving?" she asked.

Lilith glanced at her over her shoulder, and then nodded. "Yeah, to Uptown, with some friends."

Emilia blinked. "Isn't Uptown really expensive?" she asked.

Lilith shrugged. "Between the six of us, I think we can manage just fine."

"Six?" Emilia asked.

"My brother and I, the spellcaster across the hallway and his twin, our vampire friend, and the spellcaster's girlfriend," Lilith said. "I suppose you might know the Embers, Ezio and Morgyn?"

Emilia blinked. "You're friends with them?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lilith said, shrugging and pouring glasses of tea. "Been friends with them for a while. Ezio is really close with Drake, the vampire friend, and in turn he's decently friendly with Morgyn. Drake's our cousin, so we just sort of met. My brother's dating Morgyn anymore." Though, she got the feeling he may not stay dating the blond for much longer.

"Oh," Emilia said softly. "You could've had Morgyn intervene. Minerva would've backed down if a sage got involved, I think."

Lilith smiled, handing Emilia one of the two cups. "I solve my own problems," she said.

"Admirable," Emilia said, taking the cup. "If annoying for you."

"It's how I find any interest and challenge in life anymore, I guess," Lilith said, settling against the counter.

Emilia looked surprised, and then glanced down at the floor. "You're fairly old then, huh?"

"A few hundred, yes," Lilith said.

"That seems like an impossible number," Emilia said quietly.

Lilith shrugged. "It goes by faster than you'd think it would." And anyway, presumably, Emilia wasn't over to talk about Lilith's age. "I'm sure you came over for a reason?"

Emilia blinked. "Oh, right," she said. "I just, wanted to thank you properly, for saving Darrel."

Lilith waited a moment, but then tilted her head. "I can sense a 'but' here..." she said.

The spellcaster smiled, looking down at her teacup. "It's just... nothing changed," she said.

Lilith looked thoughtful. "And you were expecting that something would?" Lilith asked.

"Yeah," Emilia said. "The time without him, it kind of made me realise that there was nothing keeping me with him in the first place."

"Weren't you engaged?" Lilith asked. "That seems like pretty far to get with someone you're not actually interested in."

"It's complicated," Emilia said. "We were friends when we were kids. I could've been happy with him. Or at least, convinced myself I was. Minerva hardly liked me though. I became a spellcaster only because he was one, not because it was necessarily something I wanted for myself. All my life it's been things I don't necessarily want for myself. Things that are just good enough. I never liked Minerva either. And Darrel's gay, anyway."

Lilith looked a little displeased at the picture Emilia was painting. The other woman seemed to notice the look, and shook her head.

"I'm not saying they're _bad_ people," Emilia said. "They're just... not the _right_ people. I thought, if he just woke up again and everything went back to the way it was, it'd all start to feel right again. And then I realised... it never had felt right in the first place."

Lilith released a breath, taking a drink of tea and setting it onto the counter. "So, what's next then?"

Emilia smiled. "University, I think," she said. "I want a little more than just getting married and having kids. Stupid, isn't it? I'm not a very smart person anyway. But I think I want to go into biology."

"I don't think it's stupid. There are a lot of neat things to do with biology," Lilith said. "Morgyn went that way, too."

"Did he?" Emilia said. "Wouldn't have imagined a _sage_ being interested in science of all things."  


Lilith smiled. "He wants to save Ezio," Lilith said.

"Oh," Emilia said softly. "Yeah, that makes sense. And science is just magic that's been explained anyway."

Lilith snorted. "Yeah, that's true. I'd figure you'd have been angry with me for shaking your life up like that."

Emilia snorted, taking a drink of her tea and shaking her head. "If you hadn't," she said, "I don't think I'd have noticed how unhappy I actually was. So as weird as it sounds, thanks for that, too. Feel free to shake my life up whenever you want."

Lilith snorted. "I wouldn't give me permission to do that if I were you."

"I don't know," Emilia said. "Could be fun."

"Could also give you blood pressure issues," Lilith answered.

Emilia giggled. "Well, you're a vampire," she said. "You can just bite me and let some of the pressure out."

* * *

"Just about ready to move in," Ezio said, falling onto the floor and against a box. He and Drake's apartment was cleaned out, and now it was just trying to figure out how to get the water stains from that time he'd iced the floor out. So far, nothing had worked and they may need to just bite the bullet. Or use illusion magic. It'd wear off eventually, but it'd be someone _else's_ problem.

Lilith smiled, and settled down against one of the counters. "Yeah," she said. "We all managed to move pretty quickly, much quicker than I was expecting."

"That's for sure," Ezio said. "But Drake and I don't own much anyway, and most of what Morgyn owns is in magic realm."

Lilith snorted. "The worst part was getting Caleb and I's junk sorted through, again."

"Yeah, strange you guys didn't manage to get through it after moving here in the first place," Ezio said.

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Caleb wanted to hold onto more stuff than I expected," she said.

"He does seem like the sentimental type," Ezio said.

"Hey, speaking of him," Lilith said, "any idea what's up with him and Morgyn right now?"

Ezio shook his head. "No idea," Ezio said. "Morgyn's not seemed upset about anything at least."

"Well, if anyone would know if Morgyn was upset, I guess it'd be you," Lilith said. "Caleb came in talking to me about something to do with Morgyn. I guess he's not sure Morgyn loves him, and I'm really just not sure where this is coming from."

Ezio shrugged. "Who knows," he said. "Morgyn's a really attractive person, kind of unfortunately is aware of it, and sort of grabs attention every time the idiot walks into a room. Maybe Caleb's just feeling a little insecure about it."

"It's a silly thing to be insecure about _now_ ," Lilith said. "It's not like Morgyn suddenly got hotter over the last thirty years."

Ezio laughed. "I don't know, maybe the idiot kind of did. You know after the hormone treatments and stuff, it's kind of like Morgyn's a shape-shifter suddenly. Wildly cool, but I could see how that'd be problematic because now literally _everyone_ is looking."

Lilith shook her head. Who knew what Caleb was thinking? It was difficult for even her to figure out right now, and quite frankly, if that really _was_ what Caleb was worried about, it was such a silly thing to feel insecure about. Morgyn hadn't dated literally _anyone_ before him, seemed to be waiting for him sometimes, and Lilith didn't think suddenly the blond would decide Caleb wasn't good enough or something.

"Our idiots are fucking idiots," Lilith said, shuffling over to Ezio and flopping over onto his lap.

Ezio laughed again. "Yeah, I could've told you _that_ , Lils," he said. "That's why they're called idiots."

"Do they have idiocy adjustment dials?" Lilith asked. "You know like how the thermostat has a temperature adjustment knob?"

"If they do," Ezio said, "I have yet to find it."

Lilith sighed. Of course, Caleb's insecurities weren't invalid or anything. He had every right to feel the way he felt. It didn't change that they had come out of nowhere and had seemingly no logical basis, though. "I'm not sure how to deal with this one," she said. "Caleb doesn't seem to have any idea why he feels like this. Thinking about it, it was more like he didn't know _what_ he felt."

"Mm, you can't work that out for him, though," Ezio said. "He's gotta figure out what's wrong enough to be able to tell you, at the very least. Give it some time. He'll figure it out, and then you can just tell him he's being dumb, or at least logic out the reasons why he shouldn't be worried about anything."

"Yeah," Lilith said, breathing out. "But I really think he ought to talk to Morgyn, not me."

"Probably," Ezio said. "But you know, they both come to us first. I imagine probably because I operate as Morgyn's filter half the time and you're Caleb's logic I guess."

"... that's fair I suppose," Lilith said. "He _is_ my emotions. Seems like a fair trade."

Ezio snorted. "We're all a little broken I guess. At least we're all broken in different ways."

"Is that a bright side?" Lilith asked.

"Sure," Ezio said. "We can help each other with things that we're good at, and have someone else to turn to for the things that we're not."

"When you say it like that," Lilith answered, "it sounds really nice. At the moment, all I feel is frustration." But then, Caleb was just, Caleb and he lost a lot of his sense when it came to Morgyn. Morgyn seemed to inspire this in most people; Ezio lost his sense when it came to Morgyn, too, just slightly differently.

"Morgyn's not interested in someone else suddenly, right?" Lilith asked.

Ezio shook his head. "Not that I know of," he said. "Though, Morgyn's just kind of inherently a charming type, I guess. Morgyn knows how people work and knows how to work people, so I wouldn't be surprised if Morgyn was just a little too friendly with a lot of people not thinking anything of it."

"Caleb should be used to that, though," Lilith said. "Ugh, I have no idea. Anyway. You and Cassandra have gotten really close suddenly."

"Not _suddenly_ ," Ezio said. "But I guess we have."

"It's nice to see," Lilith said. "You swore off dating a long time ago, so it was surprising, but nice that you're moving on from it."

Ezio snorted. "You know what the problem was, right?"

Lilith shook her head.

"Most of the time, I ended up arguing with them about Drake," Ezio said.

Lilith sat up, turning around to look at him. "Wait, seriously?"

Ezio nodded. "Even though we never put words to it, it was obvious," he said. "I guess in a way I can understand Caleb, because Drake even just _existing_ around me seemed to set mine off. Cassandra's the first one I've dated that doesn't make me feel like a thing that's owned. And it's probably my own fault."

"No it's not," Lilith said. "Possession isn't love, that's just silly."

Ezio looked at her like he wanted to argue, but he went quiet, instead. "Cassandra and Drake get along," he said.

"Oh?" Lilith asked. "They've met and stuff?"  


"I told Cassandra about him," Ezio said. "And she wanted to meet him. She's the first one that's been interested in getting along with him, too."

Lilith drew a breath in. "I think maybe I'm hearing you should keep this girl."

Ezio snorted. "Yeah, I know," he said. "And I intend to stay with her as long as she's willing to put up with me. But you know, she seems to have a strangely realistic and yet still idealistic view of how things are. Eventually, she's going to change her mind."

"About what?" Lilith asked. Did he tell her something?

"About me," Ezio said. "She was there when my heart acted up once. I told her everything. And she said she'd never leave because of that and I want to believe it. She's _twenty_ , Lilith, and seems pretty sheltered. Someday, it's going to do a really bad flare and I'm going to end up in the hospital and I don't think she really understands what she's getting into with me."

Lilith sighed. "Well, if she doesn't," Lilith said, "someday she will. And then you two can have a long talk."

"Yeah," Ezio said. "I guess so. You should see if you can get Caleb to talk himself into telling you what's wrong."

Lilith snorted. "Yeah, probably," she said. "The only other option at this point is clobbering him over the head."

* * *

This was going to be their last night in Culpepper Apartments.

In some sense, Lilith thought it was sort of sad. Yet, somehow, leaving Forgotten Hollow hadn't been as sad as this was. There were memories here, though, memories that they'd built together, memories that Wolfsbane Manor didn't have. She and Caleb had only lived there for a few years altogether, and had lived in Culpepper for only one, but this place was far more full of life than the other.

It was no wonder. For all that vampires weren't undead, it was no wonder everyone thought otherwise.

As Lilith sat on the floor, flipping through one of their old photo albums (look at this old black and white photo of Lilith in a 1920's flapper dress, and god what had she done with her _hair_ back then), the door opened and Caleb came in. Lilith looked up at him, and then back to the photos.

"Welcome back," she said. This photo was probably one of the earliest ones they had of Morgyn and Ezio, playing a game of checkers in magic realm. The photo was a little grainy, because magic realm interfered with technology a bit, but it was clear enough.

"Thanks," Caleb answered, dropping his book bag on the floor by the door. "Who was that? The girl that came by."

"Emilia," Lilith answered.

"Someone I should get used to being by?" Caleb asked.

"She's just the apparently former, fiancee of the guy I put into a coma," Lilith said. "You had such interesting hair in the seventies. Look at it, it had a life of its own."

Caleb shuffled over, sitting down and immediately made a face. "Why are you even going through that?" he asked, and then fell over onto his back.

"I found it cleaning things out," Lilith said. "I like to look at old things, like photos, letters, journals... it helps me remember the things my mind wants to forget."

"If it wants to forget it, maybe there's a good reason why," Caleb said.

Lilith looked up at him, closing the album. "The reason why is, my memory is terrible, and you know it."

Caleb looked over at her, and then back at the ceiling. "What did Emilia want?" he asked.

"To thank me again," Lilith said. "Apparently my shaking up her life made her realise she wants something else out of it."

"That must be nice," Caleb said, snorting.

Lilith sighed. "You'd know what you wanted too if you'd quit trying to force it."

"I'm not trying to force anything," Caleb said.

"Is that so?" Lilith asked, tilting her head at him. "Do tell me more about how you're not trying to fit Morgyn into a mould you should be very aware Morgyn doesn't fit into."

"I'm not _trying_ to," Caleb repeated. "I'm just trying to figure out what I feel."

Lilith went quiet, sliding the album into the box it'd come from. There was almost no sense in having this conversation as long as Caleb was this upset about it, but then maybe there was some merit in upsetting him. The truth tended to come out when he was.

"Obviously, you're unhappy," Lilith said. "I'm not sure why you're not talking this out with Morgyn, but I suppose it's hard to have this conversation with Morgyn when you can barely have it in your own head."

Caleb snorted, but didn't say anything, just rolled over on the floor.

"I just don't understand why you're having so much trouble with the idea Morgyn loves you," Lilith went on. "Morgyn's loved you for decades, just like you've loved Morgyn for decades, this doesn't need to get more complicated than this."

"I'm not trying to make it more complicated," Caleb said. "I just don't think it's actually as simple as you're trying to make it out to be."

"And why not?" Lilith asked.

"Because it isn't," Caleb said. "Because this isn't a fairy tale and love doesn't just magically make everything okay."

"No, but it's a pretty solid start, Caleb," Lilith said. "It means at least that you want to fight for each other. Unless you don't still think Morgyn's worth fighting for."

"No," Caleb said.

"No what?" Lilith asked. "You don't think Morgyn's worth fighting for or you don't think either of you sees a reason to fight for each other?"

" _No_ ," Caleb answered. "I don't think Morgyn wants to fight for me!"

"Oh please," Lilith said. "You and I both know if Morgyn had no interest in fighting for you, you two would've broken up a long time ago."

To her surprise, Caleb immediately sat up, looking furious. "Then why the fuck is Morgyn still fucking around?" he demanded. "Why am I not good enough?"

And Lilith stared at him. He _had_ to be joking, but, no, he didn't seem to be, and Lilith couldn't for the life of her understand why. She drew a breath in, raising a hand to the bridge of her nose. "Are you serious right now?" she asked.

"I don't think it's too much to ask that my... _whatever_ we are, doesn't fuck around on the side," Caleb said.

"That is not even remotely the same thing, and you should know this," Lilith said.

"Isn't it?" Caleb asked.

Lilith's gaze hardened. "Don't go getting righteous now," she said. "Morgyn's been doing that for _years_ before you, you knew that when you two started dating and you went for it anyway so as far as I'm concerned you agreed to it. It has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the sex and _everything_ to do with the money, anyway, you should know that too."

"How do I even know that?" Caleb asked. "Morgyn's been doing it for so long it's hard to believe if Morgyn had a choice it wouldn't be a thing. Here we are, decades later, and Morgyn's still doing it."

"And when exactly do you imagine Morgyn suddenly had a _choice_?" Lilith asked. "Ezio is _dying_ , Morgyn needs somewhere to live that isn't going to put undue financial stress on Ezio, and then Morgyn's going through university. You're in university too. You _know_ it's not cheap!"

"If Morgyn just _asked_ ," Caleb said, "I could help."

"Oh, and then Morgyn can owe you instead," Lilith said. "Please."

"It's not like I'd care," Caleb said. "I wouldn't ask for anything back!"

"That's not how it'd feel to someone as independent as Morgyn and you _know_ it," Lilith said. She released a breath. "Look, you chose a really weird, and _bad_ time, to suddenly decide you're not okay with this. It's a _job_ , Caleb. Maybe instead of deciding to be a selfish douchenozzle about it you support Morgyn's attempts at getting out of it. I can't imagine working it for so long has been remotely easy."

Caleb didn't say anything, just laid back down on the floor.

Lilith shook her head. "Quit trying to hold down the wind, idiot," she said. "Or you're going to lose it forever."


End file.
